APPOMATTOX, Va.—After President Donald Trump posted tweets urging four progressive Democratic congresswomen to “go back” to their home countries, a Virginia pastor is gaining attention with a sign at his church saying “America: Love or Leave It.”
ABC 13 in Lynchburg reports hundreds of people have expressed support and opposition on social media to the sign outside Friendship Baptist Church in Appomattox.
Pastor E.W. Lucas told the station on July 16 that he wanted to make a statement about the political divisions in Washington.
“People that feel hard about our president and want to down the president and down the country and everything, they ought to go over there and live in these other countries for a little while,” Lucas said.
Trump tweeted on Sunday that four freshmen congresswomen “originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe,” and urged them to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”
So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019
….and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019
….it is done. These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019
Trump’s tweets targeted the “squad” of female lawmakers who’ve garnered attention for their outspoken liberal views and distaste for Trump since they joined Congress in January: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
All were born in the U.S. except for Omar, who came to the U.S. as a child after fleeing Somalia with her family.
Lucas told the television station that he plans to leave the message up for a while because of the positive feedback he’s received.
“Preachers, by and large, today, are afraid they’re gonna hurt somebody’s feelings, and when I get in the pulpit, I’m afraid I won’t hurt somebody’s feelings,” Lucas said.
Lucas’ church is about 90 miles west of Richmond.
Support for Trump
A new poll found that nearly nine-in-ten Republican respondents supported President Donald Trump’s tweets telling Democrats who dislike America to return to their countries of birth.
Republican respondents to a YouGov survey (pdf), asked about the tweets, mostly said they supported the sentiment in them.
Of the GOP respondents, 48 percent said the tweets were “great,” another 16 percent said they were “good,” and 24 percent said they were “okay.”
The remaining 13 percent said they were “bad” or “terrible.”
Few Democrats supported the tweets, with 71 percent choosing the “terrible” description and another 16 percent saying they were “bad.” Among independents, 17 percent said they were “great,” 9 percent said they were “good,” 22 percent said they were “okay,” 19 percent said they were “bad,” and 32 percent said they were “terrible.”
Overall, 21 percent of respondents said they were “great” and 37 percent said they were “terrible.”
The poll of 1,000 U.S. adults was conducted over the internet on July 14 and July 15 with a margin of error of 3.3 percent.
NTD News reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
