The internet slammed a Minnesota Republican after his remarks about assimilation at a conservative town hall on Thursday.
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) was among several GOP leaders speaking at the event hosted by conservative advocacy group Faith & Freedom Coalition when he described his thoughts about immigration.
"Minnesotans are so afraid that you're gonna call us a racist, you're gonna call us an Islamophobe," Emmer said. "You know what? I would argue that I never did care but I'm done being careful, even the least bit careful. I don't really care where you come from. But if you come to this great country, you have to understand that you're coming here to be an American."
He named several cultures, including Somalis. And the crowd cheered when he said the following:
"But [Somalis] don't assimilate. And if they don't assimilate, then they should go the hell back to where they came from," he said.
Social media users called out Emmer's comments.
"Insane even when you don't consider this is a US Representative elected to represent the people of Minnesota talking about the people of Minnesota he's elected to represent," Minnesota-based photographer Chad Davis wrote on X.
"Nope. Minnesotans aren't afraid you're going to call us racist, because most of us aren't, and don't share these views," Nadine Babu, chief executive officer at Babu Social Networks, wrote on X.
"He should just put on a KKK hood," popular political account Spiro's Ghost wrote on X.
"The mask is off," internet personality The Tennessee Holler wrote on X.