“At the core of the strategy is Trump’s consistent drumbeat of equating the white European immigrant experience with the American ideal, setting those on his side of the divide against the politically correct elites, outsiders, immigrants or nonwhites who he implies are unfairly threatening what is good about the country.”
Michael Scherer, Washington Post

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) writes, “President Trump has often crossed the line of what constitutes decent behavior. But this time feels different, because he is now attacking legal immigration and U.S. citizenship. His statements on Sunday and since then imply that immigrants are somehow less loyal to our country, less American, and that we should ‘go back’ or ‘leave’ if we disagree with him… The suspicion that immigrants are not to be trusted or are unpatriotic is not just wrong; it is un-American. And dangerous…

“The problem for the president is that many Americans are immigrants or have friends or family members who are immigrants. The American people continue to support newcomers. A Gallup poll last year found that 75 percent of Americans believe immigration is good for the country. The American people understand that what makes the nation great is not people’s bloodlines or how long ago their ancestors arrived here, but their character and belief in the Constitution.”
Ted Lieu, Washington Post

Some argue, “a great number of Americans in both parties have little sympathy for the Squad, and for all kinds of reasons, ranging from simple racism, Islamophobia and misogyny, to genuine policy disagreements, to unhappiness with the bigotry and insensitivity that members of the Squad have themselves sometimes displayed. Almost everyone has a reason to temper their support. Professional Republicans are silent because they fear their voters; professional Democrats are still angry at the Squad for challenging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Many are inclined to declare a pox on both their houses…

“Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of equivocation. Trump has given us a binary choice: Either stand with American principles, which in this case means standing in defense of the Squad, or equivocate, which means standing with Trump and white nationalism… Our nation won’t be undermined by anything the Squad has said or done. It will be undermined if we don’t fight back against this assault on our universal principles. Disagree with the Squad, refute them, argue with them, vote against them. But also defend them.”
Robert Kagan, Washington Post

Others counter, “A politician accused of anti-Semitism. Someone who has been critical of the United States and its leaders, often in strong terms. Who advocates positions outside the American mainstream. Who swears. These characteristics, President Trump argues, are ones that contribute to his labeling Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and several of her colleagues as ‘anti-USA,’ as he did Tuesday morning. They are also characteristics that describe Trump…

“Omar has, in fact, been critical of U.S. politics. Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported on her unique approach to the country’s politics and culture, noting that she has offered criticism of her adopted country, which ‘had failed to live up to its founding ideals, a place that had disappointed her and so many immigrants, refugees and minorities like her’… [But] Trump has his own track record of much more direct criticism of the United States. While Barack Obama was president, Trump declared that political correctness had led the United States to lose ‘all sense of direction or purpose.’ That ‘our country and our ‘leaders’ are getting dumber all the time.’ That the country had become ‘stupid.’ That the country had never looked ‘weaker or more pathetic’... What has Ilhan Omar done that Donald Trump hasn’t?”
Philip Bump, Washington Post

“James Baldwin famously said, ‘I love America more than any other country in this world, and exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.’ As immigrants, we often come to America because we love it more than the place we are leaving… We come to make a better life for ourselves, certainly, but also because we believe in the idea of America. Our optimism about what this nation can be is not naive, it's aspirational and visionary. Among our masses lies the same fervor that our founding fathers brought here: a fervor for a democracy that represents our interests. When we run for office, the potential we have to make government work for all of us is one that true Americans welcome. Trump is afraid that we do not huddle in fear but stride in power.”
Sayu Bhojwani, CNN