Washington: Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar has branded Donald Trump a "fascist" as the president sought to distance himself from mocking chants of "Send her back!" directed at the Somali-born lawmaker by his supporters. "We have said this president is racist, we have condemned his racist remarks," Omar, one of two Muslim women in Congress, said on Thursday. "I believe he is fascist." Chants of "Send her back!" broke out at Trump's "Make America Great Again" rally in Greenville, North Carolina, on Wednesday night as he attacked Omar and three other ethnic minority Democratic congresswomen known as the "Squad."

Trump claimed to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that there was "great energy" at the rally but he was not pleased by the taunts. "I was not happy when I heard that chant," he said. "I didn't like that they did it, and I started speaking quickly." Television footage showed, however, that Trump let the chant continue for more than 10 seconds before he resumed speaking. Trump was rebuked by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday for "racist comments" for saying the four should "go back" to their countries of origin if they are not happy in the United States. But he made it clear at the rally that without a Democratic presidential candidate to focus on yet, he plans to make inflammatory attacks on Omar and her three fellow left-leaning Democrats a centerpiece of his 2020 re-election strategy. The first-term lawmakers -- all but one of whom, Omar, were born in the United States -- are of Hispanic, Arab, Somali and African-American descent. To the delight of his thousands of supporters in Greenville, Trump described Omar and the other three Democrats as "left-wing ideologues (who) see our nation as a force of evil."