Utah’s three Republican congressmen have broken their silence on the controversy over President Trump’s tweets aimed at four congresswomen of color.
Reps. Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart and John Curtis issued a joint statement last night. They did not specifically mention the president’s tweets, but instead criticized what they called “inflammatory rhetoric.”
Read the full joint statement:
Freedom of speech is a pillar of our democracy. We are not trying to censor President Trump or House Democrats. But, for the sake of not dividing our nation further, the inflammatory rhetoric needs to stop. From claims that ‘Nancy Pelosi is a racist’ to ‘Border agents are Nazis running concentration camps,’ it has gotten out of control. This resolution and these social media wars do nothing to unify our country and only take time and resources away from our true responsibility to get real legislative work done for the people of Utah.
All three voted yesterday against a House resolution condemning Trump’s tweets as racist.
Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams, voted for the resolution. He released his own statement criticizing Trump’s tweets as offensive and also said he thinks the debate distracts from getting work done.
Read McAdams’ full statement:
Today was a frustrating day — Exhibit A of what is wrong with Washington. I found the president’s tweet to be offensive and beneath the dignity of the office he holds. Divisiveness is wrong and distracts from our work for the American people. The more time we spend talking about offensive tweets and comments from politicians the less time we spend finding solutions to the nation’s serious problems. I’m eager to get back to work doing what voters sent us here to do.
Sen. Mitt Romney condemned the tweets on Monday but did not call them racist. Sen. Mike Lee has not commented.
The president’s comments were destructive, demeaning, and disunifying. The President of the United States has a unique and noble calling to unite the American people – of all different races, colors, and national origins. In that respect, the president failed badly.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) July 15, 2019
