Rep. Ilhan Omar says President Trump launched a 'blatantly racist attack' on duly elected members of Congress
Progressive lawmaker responds to President Trump's tweets.
Rep. Ilhan Omar fired a heated broadside at President Trump -- even making use of his own words -- in the wake of his recent inflammatory tweets about the Minnesota Democrat and other progressive congresswomen.
Speaking during a news conference alongside Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Omar forcefully went after Trump.
"This is a president who has ultimately violated the very value our country aspires to uphold," she said in the stunning attack.
"To distract from that, he is launching a blatantly racist attack on four duly-elected members of the United States House of Representatives, all of whom are women of color.
"This is the agenda of white nationalists. He would love nothing more to divide our country based on race, religion, gender, orientation or immigration status."
Omar, a frequent critic of the president and frequent subject of his ire, then used some of Trump’s own expletive-laded statements against him.
"This is a president who has said 'grab women by the p----,'" she said. "This is a president who has called black athletes 'sons of b----es.' This is a president who has called people who come from black and brown countries 'sh--holes.' This is a president who has equated neo-Nazis with those who protest against them in Charlottesville."
Omar later declared that "it is time for us to impeach this president" for "openly violating" his constitutional oath.
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"The eyes of history are watching us" in this "pivotal moment," Omar said.
Pressley, in her remarks, repeatedly referred to Trump as "the occupant of the White House" seeking to "marginalize and silence" the women, but quickly turned her focus to various issues, from gun violence to immigration.
Just hours earlier, President Trump forcefully doubled down on his call for progressive congresswomen to "go back" to where they came from -- and demanded they "apologize" for what he called their anti-American "hate."
Omar asserted that the U.S. had a "long way" to go until it could live up to its founding values. She repeated unsubstantiated allegations that people were drinking from "toilets" in immigrant detention centers. U.S. officials have fiercely contested those claims.
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"Right now, the president is committing human rights abuses at the border," Omar said, before saying Trump has been "credibly accused" of criminal conduct. Omar also slammed Trump for keeping children in "cages" -- prompting Trump to tweet, minutes after the news conference, that illegal-immigrant children were photographed in cages under the Obama administration.
Trump added that he wants to fix the "BAD IMMIGRATION LAWS" that lead to poor border conditions and overcrowding.
Tlaib, speaking separately, backed Omar's call for impeachment, saying Trump's language was "disgusting and bigoted" and that his administration was "lawless."
Asked by Fox News' Chad Pergram about Trump's criticisms of Omar's remarks as anti-American, Omar slammed the president's "complete hypocrisy," and said his presidential campaign was founded on all the things "wrong" with the United States.
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"Every single statement that we make is from a place of extreme love for every single person in this country," Omar said. "It is part of the mandate of why we ran for office and why we got elected."
Fox News’ Gregg Re contributed to this report.
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