U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has condemned President Trump for saying that four left-wing congresswomen should go back to where they came from. All four congresswomen are non-White. Democrats quickly denounced the president’s statements on Twitter as racist. What’s more surprising is that, starting last night, several Republican members of Congress also criticized the president’s tweets.
Murkowski issued her messages Monday morning on Facebook and Twitter.
There is no excuse for the president’s spiteful comments –they were absolutely unacceptable and this needs to stop.
— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) July 15, 2019
“There is no excuse for the president’s spiteful comments,” she wrote. “They were absolutely unacceptable and this needs to stop.”
Murkowski called for a higher standard of decorum and decency. Her postings attracted several thousand comments. A lot of Facebook users thanked her and a few defended what the president said. On Twitter, many scolded her for not using the word “racist” to describe the president’s tweet.
Sen. Dan Sullivan had not weighed in by Monday evening, when he went into the Senate to take a turn presiding over the chamber.
“I’m going to, I’m looking at this as I preside, so I’ll put out a statement when I’ve read through it all,” Sullivan said.
A couple of hours later, Sullivan’s office sent a statement, an email reply to a written question sent earlier in the day. The statement does not mention the president or his tweet. It mostly takes issue with Democrats.
“The National Democratic Party is increasingly turning into a far-left, open-borders, anti-Israel, anti-energy and anti-resource development party (particularly as it relates to Alaska). This is something we should be debating nationally and in Alaska,” Sullivan’s statement reads. “But as I’ve repeatedly said, we should endeavor to debate these issues in a respectful and civil manner, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican.”
Congressman Don Young did not issue an official comment on the president’s tweet by Monday evening and his office did not respond to a question Monday afternoon.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
