After rebuke, Trump says 'I don’t have a racist bone in my body'

After Democratic Congresswoman hit back at President Trump over his xenophobic tirade against them, the US president said those tweets were "not racist".

"I don’t have a racist bone in my body," Trump tweeted, adding, "our country is free, beautiful and very successful. If you hate our country, or if you are not happy here, you can leave!"

"Congresswomen, who I truly believe, based on their actions, hate our country. Get a list of the horrible things they have said."

In a series of tweets on Sunday Trump had attacked the four congress lawmakers, all born in America - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.

Trump had also accused the four first-term congresswomen - who are of Hispanic, Arab, Somali and African American origin - of having "love" for US "enemies like Al-Qaeda."

The four lawmakers -- who have been nicknamed "The Squad" by some media -- said attention should instead be focused on healthcare and immigration and, in particular, the treatment of asylum seekers on the southern border.

"Weak minds and leaders challenge loyalty to our country in order to avoid challenging and debating the policy," said Ocasio-Cortez.

Trump "does not know how to defend his policies, so what he does is attack us personally, and that is what this is all about," she said.

--