ATLANTA — Sen. Johnny Isakson calls them “inappropriate.” Rep. Jody Hice wishes they had been “more diplomatic.”
Rep. Buddy Carter doesn’t believe they’re as worthy of concern as the “radical agenda of the socialist wing of the Democratic party.”
Georgia Republicans are split along a wide spectrum in their responses to President Trump’s tweets this weekend – telling progressive Democratic congresswomen to “go back” to the “crime infested places from which they came” – that Democrats, including Reps. John Lewis and Hank Johnson of Georgia, have lambasted as racist.
“What he said and what he continues to say is racist,” Lewis told NBC News on Tuesday. “You cannot hide it.”
Lewis’ GOP colleagues from Georgia, to varying degrees, disagree.
Isakson, who has represented Georgia in the Senate since 2005, issued the sternest response to the president but stopped short of a full condemnation.
“I wasn’t elected to make excuses or explain the statements of somebody else, and so I’m just not going to do that,” Isakson said. “I think it was totally inappropriate, and he doesn’t have to do that, which makes it sadder. He’s going to have to be the one to explain because I don’t understand it.”
Rep. Carter, by contrast, redirected blame to what he called “radical” Democrats in Congress who’d “use(d) expletives referring to our president and (made) anti-Semitic statements.”
“I’m not as concerned about where people are from as I am about the radical agenda of the socialist wing of the Democratic party in Congress,” he said.
“The very public infighting among Democrats continues to escalate and it’s happening at the detriment of the American people. This deep divide on the other side of the aisle and Speaker Pelosi’s efforts to appease the radical elements in her caucus have hindered critical work to lower prescription drug costs, secure our border and address the humanitarian crisis there, support our troops and more.”
Rep. Barry Loudermilk was also dismissive, pointing on Twitter to an attack at an ICE facility in Washington state.
“ANTIFA attempted to blow up an ICE detention facility,” Loudermilk wrote. “But all the Democrats want to do today is pass yet another resolution calling the President names.”
In his tweet, the president appeared to target four Democrats – Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley – with his “go back” comment. Three of the four were born in the U.S., and the group called the tweets “xenophobic bigoted remarks.”
House Democrats introduced a resolution on Monday to condemn them as “racist comments.”
Rep. Hice said he did not believe the president was a racist.
“I firmly believe that all people are made in the image of God and are equal in His eyes. I don’t believe the president is a racist,” Hice said. “And although I wish he had been more diplomatic, I share his frustrations in regard to Members of Congress making repeated derogatory statements about the Nation we love, serve, and defend.”
Rep. Doug Collins, also a Republican, said he shared some of the president’s frustrations while appealing to softer rhetoric.
“The president is frustrated that Congress has not acted to solve the crisis at our border, and he expressed his frustrations in a way that didn’t promote reconciliation across the aisle and across our country,” Collins wrote in part on Twitter.
“This country is wide open to everyone who respects our laws and wants to share in our freedoms. It is my hope we can have productive dialogue to replace frustration with understanding and actually do what the people sent us here to do: solve problems like the border crisis.”
At least one prominent Georgia Democrat, Rep. Lucy McBath, also appealed to unity.
“Yesterday, our President singled out my colleagues based on their race. My colleagues in the House, on both sides of the aisle, ran to improve the country that we love,” she wrote on Twitter.
“As Americans, it is imperative we stand together to solve the problems facing our nation.”
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