Condemning President Trump's Racist Comments Directed At Members of Congress

Floor Speech

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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.

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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, my inquiry is this. My colleague across the aisle just referred to Members of Congress as ``anti-American.'' I believe that those words are defamatory, and I would like to ask whether that is appropriate for a request for the gentleman to take down his words.

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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, so a Member can say that other Members of Congress are anti-American and no resolution for that? We would like to ask the gentleman to take down his words.

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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, yes, I am asking that the gentleman's words be taken down.

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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I was trying to get the attention.

Mr. Speaker, I will relinquish the point, but I just want to remind my colleagues that that is completely inappropriate to tell any of us that we are anti-American.

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Ms. JAYAPAL. Madam Speaker, I am appalled at the statements coming from the White House telling people who dissent that somehow you should go back to your country if you criticize the United States. Well, let me remind you that dissent is patriotic and, in fact, a core value to our democracy, enshrined in our Constitution.

And, yes, I am a proud naturalized citizen born in India, a proud patriot, a proud person who belongs in this country.

And it is not the first time I have heard, ``go back to your own country,'' but it is the first time I have heard it coming from the White House. And, frankly, Madam Speaker, I am appalled that, on this floor, my Republican colleagues would call any of us anti-American.

That is why this vote is so important, because we have to let the rest of the country know that the House of Representatives will stand up for the Constitution, represent and defend every single person in the country, regardless of the color of their skin or the country of their birth.

Madam Speaker, my Republican colleagues have been talking about patriotism, about love of country. One of them said ``love it or leave it.'' But what is love if not to make what we love better through our critique, our work, and our service. That is what real Americans do.

We do not stifle dissent. We do not otherize or sow hatred, and we certainly never say ``go back to your country'' to a brown or a Black person, because that is a racist trope.

I hope that every single Member of this Chamber, Republican and Democrat, will join me in rejecting the President's message and vote in support of this resolution. Madam Speaker, that is the American thing to do.

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