Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.Tom Williams/Zuma
Following President Donald Trump’s racist tweets about four congresswomen of color and his refusal to quell supporters who chanted “send her back” in reference to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) at a campaign rally Wednesday evening, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) took to Twitter to offer some words of encouragement.
“To all those scared for our future: we can get through this better than we started,” she wrote in a tweet that garnered more than 100,000 likes. “We have the power to triumph over hatred, division, and bigotry.”
To all those scared for our future: we can get through this better than we started.
We have the power to triumph over hatred, division, and bigotry.
But decency cannot be taken for granted. It is something we must create, advance, and actively work to build each and every day.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 18, 2019
Omar herself responded with a quote from Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise.”
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.-Maya Angelou https://t.co/46jcXSXF0B
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 18, 2019
The hashtag #IStandWithIlhan was trending on Twitter Thursday morning as elected officials—including Democratic presidential candidates—expressed their support for Omar, one of the first two Muslim congresswomen.
#IStandWithIlhan and am proud to work with her in Congress.
Trump is stoking the most despicable and disturbing currents in our society. And that very hatred and racism fuels him. We must fight together to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of our country.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 18, 2019
#IStandWithIlhan against attacks from this racist president, and we should all remember this definition of patriotism. https://t.co/PzFT1bNfF2
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) July 18, 2019
