Trump Brushes Away Criticism from Ocasio-Cortez, 'Who Cares?'
President Donald Trump quickly brushed aside a reporter’s query Monday about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York calling him a racist, which in turn prompted the freshman lawmaker to question the amount of the chief executive’s wealth.
A reporter said to Trump at the White House before he left for New Orleans, “Mr. President, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez called you a racist.”
“Who did?” the president wondered.
“Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez,” was the response.
“Who cares?” Trump said, before moving on to the next reporter’s question.
Trump responds to Ocasio-Cortez calling him a racist
Reporter: “Mr. President, congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez called you a racist”
Trump: “Who did?”
Reporter: “Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez”
Trump: “Who cares” pic.twitter.com/Wh5x6ZXYwb
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) January 14, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez shot back to Trump’s response on Twitter, writing, “I bartended for *years* in New York City. I understand guys like this like the back of my hand. We got under his skin,” adding a laughing emoji.
I’d say we’d be taxing 70% of Trump’s income, but he probably hasn’t made more than $10 million in years – and that’s the real reason he’s hiding his taxes ?
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 14, 2019
She then took a swipe at his reported wealth, questioning whether the billionaire would get taxed at 70 percent under her proposed change to the tax law to fund her “Green New Deal.”
“I’d say we’d be taxing 70% of Trump’s income, but he probably hasn’t made more than $10 million in years — and that’s the real reason he’s hiding his taxes,” the 29-year-old wrote, with a winking-face emoji.
During a CBS News “60 Minutes” interview last week, Ocasio-Cortez charged that Trump “certainly didn’t invent racism. But he’s certainly given a voice to it and expanded it and created a platform for those things.”
Asked by host Anderson Cooper if she believes Trump is a racist, the congresswoman answered: “Yeah. No question.”
“When you look at the words that he uses, which are historic dog whistles of white supremacy,” she claimed. “When you look at how he reacted to the Charlottesville incident, where neo-Nazis murdered a woman, versus how he manufactures crises like immigrants seeking legal refuge on our borders, it’s — it’s night and day.”
The White House deputy press secretary responded to the allegation, saying in a statement, “Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s sheer ignorance on the matter can’t cover the fact that President Trump supported and passed historic criminal justice reform … and … has repeatedly condemned racism and bigotry in all forms.”
After the president’s Oval Office address last Tuesday, the congresswoman tried to link Trump’s border barrier proposal to the Ku Klux Klan, tweeting , “Build a wall of steel, a wall as high as Heaven” against immigrants. — 1924 Ku Klux Klan convention.”
“Build a wall of steel, a wall as high as Heaven” against immigrants.
– 1924 Ku Klux Klan conventionWe know our history, and we are determined not to repeat its darkest hour.
America is a nation of immigrants. Without immigrants, we are not America. https://t.co/3dePiGFQAL
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 9, 2019
“We know our history, and we are determined not to repeat its darkest hour,” the Democrat continued. “America is a nation of immigrants. Without immigrants, we are not America.”
Many have noted that 2006’s “Secure Fence Act,” under which much of the current hundreds of miles of border barriers were built, enjoyed strong bipartisan support, passing the House of Representatives by a 238-138 vote, and the Senate, 80-19.
Sixty-four House and 25 Senate Democrats voted for the measure, including Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton of New York, Barack Obama of Illinois, Joe Biden of Delaware and Dianne Feinstein of California.
It seems doubtful Ocasio-Cortez would accuse these Democratic lawmakers of being Ku Klux Klan sympathizers.
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