Trump is furious that Republican lawmakers have been 'weak' in their defense of his racist tweet, report says

Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

President Donald J. Trump holds up a paper with tweets about Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as he speaks during a cabinet meeting in the cabinet Room at the White House on Tuesday, July 16th, 2019 in Washington, DC.

• President Trump is reportedly angry because he thinks Republicans have not been forthright enough in defending his incendiary racist tweet targeting four progressive congresswomen of color, reported Politico.
• GOP leaders in the House and Senate have refused to describe Trump's tweet as racist.
• However some Republican lawmakers are breaking ranks to criticise the tweet, including half the delegation from the crucial swing state of Ohio.
• On Wednesday, four Republicans voted for a House bill condemning the racist language of Trump's attack.
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President Trump has told two GOP lawmakers he is angry about what he believes to be a weak defense among congressional Republicans of his racist tweet targetting four progressive congresswomen, Politico reported.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Politico that Trump is displeased with what he see as lukewarm GOP support for the incendiary tweet, in which he told the lawmakers of color to "go back and help fix" their "broken and crime infested" countries.

Read more: House of Representatives votes to condemn Trump's 'racist comments' in a remarkable rebuke of the president

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the congresswomen targeted by the president.

Republican leaders have refused to call Trump's attack racist, with Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California on Tuesday claiming that the dispute is "all about politics and beliefs of ideologies."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday that "the president's not a racist," but when asked how he'd react to his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, being told to go back home, he defended legal migration as "good for America."

Some Republicans though have broken rank to criticize the president, with four Republicans voting on Tuesday in favor of a House bill that condemning the racist language of Trump's tweets.

According to Reuters, three dozen of the 250 GOP lawmakers in Congress have criticized the president, including three from the deep red state of Texas and almost half of the delegation from Ohio, a crucial 2020 battleground state.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan was one of four Republicans to vote for the motion condemning Trump's tweets.

Read more: Here are the 4 Republicans who voted in the House to condemn Trump's racist comments

Republican lawmakers have generally held back from openly criticizing the president, because of the public humiliation and attacks he subjects those who speak out against him to, and his enormous popularity among supporters of the party.

On Wednesday, a poll from Reuters and IPSOS poll showed that Trump's popularity among Republicans had increased because of the tweets.

As controversy over the attack has rages, Trump has shown no sign of backing down.

On Tuesday he stepped up attacks on the congresswomen - Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota - accusing them of being "pro-terrorist."