Kamala Harris says Trump should ‘go back to where he came from’ amid fury over racist tweets

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Kamala Harris has said Donald Trump’s racist tweets attacking four Democratic congresswomen of colour “defile the office of the United States” and “take the presidency to a new low”.

The 2020 presidential hopeful urged Mr Trump to “go back to where he came from and leave that office”.

Her comments came after the House of Representatives voted to condemn the US president’s racist tweets on Tuesday night.

On Sunday, Mr Trump had said some Democratic congresswomen should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”.

While the US president did not name the targets of his attack, the context of his tweet made it clear it was aimed at a group of four progressive Democratic women of colour – Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley.

In an interview with CNN, Ms Harris described Mr Trump’s racist tirade as “un-American” and “unbecoming of the president of the United States”

“He needs to go back where he came from and leave that office,” she said.

“And so that's why I'm running with the intention of making sure there will not be four more years.”

"I don't think that we can survive having a president of the United States who uses whatever voice he has in a way that is about dividing and fuelling hate in our country."

She added: “He wants to distract by lighting fires around the issue of race – it’s disgusting.”

“I think it is a turn for this president,” she continued. “Could it get any worse? Apparently yes, it just did. How low can he go?”

The California senator’s comments echo those of the four Democratic congresswomen targeted in Mr Trump’s racist tweets who claimed his remarks were a distraction from more important issues.

They urged Americans “not to take the bait”, saying the president would “love nothing more than to divide the country”.

At a campaign rally in Iowa earlier this month, Ms Harris described Mr Trump as a “predator” and said she was ready to “prosecute” him.

“I know predators, and we have a predator living in the White House,” she said.

“I'm prepared to prosecute the case. And I’m going to tell you in terms of my background,” Ms Harris added before listing off groups she prosecuted in her career as a criminal prosecutor.

The California senator is considered one of the front-runners in the Democratic presidential race following her performance in the first debate at the end of June.