WASHINGTON — A pair of top Democrats in the House of Representatives slammed President Donald Trump's "deranged obsession" with attacking Somali-Americans on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Trump said he does not want Somalis in the United States because "they contribute nothing," the AP reported. His most recent attack follows a report by the conservative outlet City Journal that accused Somali Americans of committing fraud in Minnesota, the report added.
Speaking exclusively with Raw Story on Wednesday, Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) pushed back against the president's remarks.
"He's a bigoted fool," Omar said. "There's nothing surprising about the president using racist, xenophobic, and Islamophobic rhetoric to attack an entire community."
Omar added that Trump's comments make him look weak to the Somali community she represents.
"They're all mockingly wondering if he's ok, and so am I," she said. "Even the reporters were asking, 'Why are you bringing them up?' It just seems like he has a very deranged and creepy obsession with me and, by extension, the Somali Americans, and it's really off-putting. It puts his mental decline on display in a way that I don't think he's smart enough to recognize."
The Trump administration has since stepped up its immigration enforcement activities against Somali-Americans since the president made his remarks, officials told the AP.
Ocasio-Cortez said the immigration raids show Trump is not aware of the legal complexities of his actions. She warned that his actions could leave him vulnerable to legal action.
"There are so many legal exemptions, from libel laws to slander, that, as an elected official, there are very few protections," she said.
