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Pa. Sen. Pat Toomey Takes Issue With Controversial Trump Tweets On Democratic Congresswomen

PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP/CNN) -- Sen. Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania is one of a handful of GOP legislators taking issue with President Donald Trump's recent tweet that freshman Democratic congresswomen of color should "go back" to where they came from.

"President Trump was wrong to suggest that four left-wing congresswomen should go back to where they came from," Toomey said in a statement. "Three of the four were born in America and the citizenship of all four is as valid as mine."

Toomey went on to say, "I couldn't disagree more with these congresswomen's views on immigration, socialism, national security, and virtually every policy issue. But they are entitled to their opinions, however misguided they may be."

Toomey said of the Democrats:  "We should defeat their ideas on the merits, not on the basis of their ancestry."

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who is up for re-election next year, said Trump's tweet was "way over the line and he should take that down."

Trump tweeted Sunday that four Democratic congresswomen should go back to the countries they came from. All of the women are American citizens and three were born in the United States.

Democrats condemned Trump's tweets as racist and divisive. But Trump says that "a lot of people love" what he said.

For more on this story, visit CBS News at this link.

(TM and © Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. CNN contributed to this report.)

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