President
Donald Trump tried to distance himself on Thursday from supporters' chants of "send her back" at a rally where he blasted Somalia-born U.S. Representative
Ilhan Omar, as
Republicans worry the incendiary mantra could set the tone for the 2020 campaign.
Omar, a Democrat, shot back that Trump was "spewing fascist ideology," and Republicans expressed alarm that the inflammatory chant, building off of provocative tweets and statements by Trump, might become a theme of his 2020 re-election campaign.
"We cannot be defined by this," said conservative Representative Mark Walker, who added that
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives discussed the potential political risks at a breakfast with Vice President Mike Pence.