Michelle Obama Hits Back Against Trump’s ‘Go Back’ Attacks: ‘It’s Our America’
After a week of attacks against Rep. Ilhan Omar and other members of “the squad” from Donald Trump, former first lady Michelle Obama seemingly fired back at the president on Twitter writing, “it’s not my America or your America. It’s our America.”
It all began when Trump first suggested in a tweet that Omar, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Rep. Rashida Tlaib should “go back” to their countries to fix their governments even though they are all American citizens. Of the four Congresswomen, only Omar was born outside of the U.S.
During a “Make America Great Again” rally in Greeneville, North Carolina, on Wednesday, Trump sat back and watched as his followers broke into chants of “send her back” when Omar was discussed.
When Trump was criticized for not stopping the crowd’s hateful chant, he told reporters at the White House: “I was not happy with it, I disagree with it.”
The day after Trump’s interview in the Oval Office about the chants, Mrs. Obama, who rarely inserts herself in current political discourse, made her position on Trump’s remarks abundantly clear.
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“What truly makes our country great is its diversity,” she tweeted Friday. “I’ve seen that beauty in so many ways over the years. Whether we are born here or seek refuge here, there’s a place for us all. We must remember it’s not my America or your America. It’s our America.”
The same day Obama sent her tweet, Trump seemingly walked back his previous comments condemning the “send her back” chants. As he was leaving the White House Friday to visit his New Jersey golf resort, the president appeared to defend his original comments.
“I don’t care if it’s good or bad politically. I don’t care,” the president said when asked whether his spat with “the squad” is bad for his political career.
Michelle Obama’s decision to stand up against the division stoked by Trump came at the same time as a new poll revealed the former first lady is the most admired woman in the world.
According to a new YouGov poll, Obama was mentioned the most by a panel of people who were asked: "Thinking about people alive in the world today, which [man or woman] do you most admire?"
The former first lady is followed by Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, who was voted most admired last year, Queen Elizabeth II and Emma Watson.
This is not the first time Obama has appeared at the top of a list regarding favorability among the public. In December 2018, a Gallup poll determined Michelle Obama was America's most admired woman, which was the first time in 17 years someone other than Hillary Clinton topped the list.
