President Trump calls Rep. Ilhan Omar an 'anti-Semite,' she accuses him of 'inherent racism'
President Donald Trump continued his attacks against four progressive congressional Democratic women on Tuesday, prolonging his fight against the so-called "Squad" by claiming in a tweet that he'll win Minnesota's electoral votes in 2020 because of "anti-Semite" Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Trump also addressed kept up the fight at Turning Point USA's Teen Student Action Summit 2019 meeting at a hotel in downtown Washington a few blocks from the White House. In another of his classic, greatest hits-style political speeches, he fueled his feud with the Democratic congresswomen, taking aim at what he called "AOC plus three."
The president called Rep. Rashida Tlaib "vicious" and compared her to "a crazed lunatic."
"This is not a sane person, folks," Trump said of the freshman Michigan Democrat. "Now, the Democrats I guess are forced to embrace her."
The crowd didn't break into any "send her back" chants, but notably yelled out "One Squad Under God" after Trump said in America people don't worship their government but God. Trump said he would probably be forced to disavow the students' chant but he pledged he wouldn't.
"No, I'm not disavowing that. Would you disavow that? No, thank you," Trump said. "The squad. No, it's very true."
Omar, one of three Muslims serving in the House of Representatives, spoke out on Tuesday, alongside Gold Star Father Khizr Khan, who has also publicly tangled with Trump, at the Muslim Collective for Equitable Democracy Conference in Washington.
Omar accused President Trump of "inherent racism" -- citing Trump's call to bring back the death penalty in the aftermath of the Central Park Five case.
"Right now even when we're talking about the president, people will say you know his remarks are racist, and we'll forget the inherent racism that has always been part of him."
Tlaib was listed on the program for this morning's panel, but skipped the event.
In an interview with the "Authentically Detroit" podcast, Tlaib said Trump is trying to "distract us" from his administration and agenda, what she called a "failed presidency."
"You have a president who doesn't actually respond to policy questions," she said, referring to his personal attacks on the group.
She continued to criticize his agenda, and repeated her calls to shut down the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"It needs to be audited, it needs to be dismantled, we didn’t have ICE years ago before 9/11 and I can tell you we were fine," she said about the agency within the Department of Homeland Security, which was created after the Sept. 11 attacks to help protect the U.S. from future attacks.
The House of Representatives is also expected to debate and vote on a resolution opposing efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement targeting Israel, which Omar has vocally supported.
In a series of tweets earlier this month, Trump began a concerted effort to disparage the progressive Democratic congresswomen for what he characterized as "horrible and disgusting actions," telling them to stop criticizing the government and "go back" to where they came from.
At a campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina, last Wednesday, Trump did not intervene but just stood on stage for 13 seconds as supporters chanted, "send her back," targeting Omar, a naturalized U.S. citizen who fled Somalia as a refugee in her youth. The president has sent mixed signals on his reaction to the chants, both saying it did not make him happy while also praising his supporters.
"The Squad" has gained notoriety in Washington -- and a massive following nationally -- after taking office in the new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives.
ABC News' Matthew Vann and Benjamin Gittleson contributed to this report.
