Attorney General Bill Barr said in a speech during the Combating Anti-Semitism Summit at the Justice Department Monday that groups fighting "under the banner of identity politics" are dividing Americans.
Why it matters: Barr made the comments a day after President Trump tweeted that some progressive lawmakers should "go back" and fix the "crime infested places from which they came." Trump later doubled down on the tweets, which have been denounced by Democrats and some Republicans for being racist.
The big picture: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) were the target of Trumps tweets, said the president was "stoking white nationalism."
- Of the 4 progressive congresswomen targeted, only Omar is an immigrant to the United States.
AG Barr delivers remarks at anti-Semitism summit at DOJHAPPENING NOW: Attorney General Bill Barr delivers remarks at anti-Semitism summit at Justice Dept. hours ahead of the House Rules Committee debating a resolution to hold him in contempt of Congress. http://abcn.ws/2hFejwL
Posted by ABC News on Monday, July 15, 2019
Go deeper: Trump's racist "go back" tweets highlight his us-vs.-them politics
