Senator Kamala Harris says women of colour in American politics have no intention of going anywhere, except to the White House.
The comments come in response to Donald Trump telling four women in Congress to “go back” to the countries they came from, instead of “loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States” how to run the country.
The remarks — which were aimed at politicians Ilhan Omar, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Rashid Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley — were widely criticised as racist, and galvanised Democrats against the president. Ms Harris is one of the leading candidates seeking the party’s 2020 nomination.
He “tells them to go back where they came from. What do we say? We’re not going back,” Ms Harris said during a speech to the National Urban League. “And, in fact, we’re not going anywhere — we’re going to the White House. That’s where we’re going.”
Mr Trump’s comments served to unify what had been a fracturing Democratic caucus in Washington, and was denounced by all four women targeted — referred to commonly as “the squad” — alongside top Democrats like House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The four women and the more establishment Democrat wing of the party represented by Ms Pelosi had been quarrelling over policy, and the attacks provided a momentary respite from those tensions.
Mr Trump has refused to back step his comments in the face of criticism, and has claimed the remarks were not racist.
