President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that four minority representatives—Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Ilhan Omar—"originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe." He urged them to go back to their countries and repair situations there before critiquing the United States.
All four of the Congresswomen are American citizens. Three of the four were born in the United States.
While taking questions at the third annual Made in America summit on the White House Lawn, Trump insisted that his tweets were "not at all" racist.
Donald Trump's tweets were racist.
His words sparked massive outcry, but in attempts to seem neutral in the face of constant claims of partiality from the president and his allies, many mainstream news outlets were hesitant to use the word "racist." It's a pattern that's been occurring for years, despite numerous people calling it out.
But the president's least favorite news network, CNN, didn't hold back with its headline.
The headline on CNN's website reads:
"Trump denies racist tweets were racist"
It was a refreshing sight for many to see a news outlet call it what it is.
The headline comes as many Republicans claim the term "racist" is used too flippantly by Democrats, yet few seem willing to question why overt racism appears to be more commonplace in the Trump era.
Many are calling on news outlets to stop being so hesitant to use the word where it applies.
More outlets would do well to take a page from CNN's book.
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