Donald Trump has falsely claimed he tried to stop supporters at a campaign rally making racist chants by “speaking very quickly”, despite the fact he let the chants go on for up to 14 seconds before continuing his address.

At the event in North Carolina, the crowd began the calls “send her back”, words Mr Trump had himself used the day before, as he was talking about congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

Ms Omar is one of four women of colour from the Democratic Party the president has made racist remarks about, and for which the House of Representatives this week passed a resolution strongly condemning him.

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As controversy over the chants grew on Thursday, with critics saying the president’s rhetoric risked adding to hate speech and even threats against members of minority groups, he claimed he was “not happy” with the chanting.

“I think I did ... I started speaking very quickly,” he said in the Oval Office. 

The president did not, in fact, appear to stop or change the speed of his continued insults against the Democratic politicians on Wednesday night, and video of the speech shows paused while he allowed the chants to go on for up to 14 seconds before he carried on speaking.

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“Tonight I have a suggestion for the hate-filled extremists who are constantly trying to tear our country down,” Mr Trump said in his speech. “They never have anything good to say. That’s why I say, ‘Hey if you don’t like it, let ‘em leave, let ‘em leave’.”

The comments were the latest attacks he had directed at Ms Omar, a former refugee from Somalia who moved to the US two decades ago, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib. 

The four women, who have been dubbed “the Squad” by the US media, have been outspoken in their criticism not just of Mr Trump but members of the Democratic Party. Last week, they were involved in a spat with House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had told members to avoid settling their intra-party disputes on social media.

Ms Omar responded on Wednesday night with a series of tweets, including one quoting Maya Angelou’s defiant poem, “Still I Rise,” with the words “You may shoot me with your words... But still, like air, I’ll rise”.

“I am where I belong, at the people’s house and you’re just gonna have to deal!” she wrote in another.

Mr Trump appears set to try and use issues such as immigration and race, to stir up his base as he seeks re-election next year.

Speaking at the White House on Monday, he was asked about his comments. “As far as I’m concerned if you hate our country, if you’re not happy here, you can leave,” Mr Trump said.

Asked if he was concerned that many people considered his tweets as raves and that “white nationalist groups are finding common cause with you”, he said: “It doesn’t concern me because many people agree with me. All I’m saying, they want to leave, they can leave. Now, it doesn’t say leave forever. It says leave if you want.”

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On Tuesday, the House passed a resolution that “strongly condemned” Mr Trump’s racist language. The vote on Tuesday, which passed 240 – 187, approved a resolution saying “Donald Trump’s racist comments have legitimised fear and hatred of new Americans and people of colour”.

On Wednesday, the House set aside a resolution to proceed with impeachment of the president, though 95 Democrats indicated they supported such a step.

The Republican Party has been noticeable for either failing to criticise Mr Trump’s language, or in some cases, defending it.

Only four Republicans and one independent member of Congress, voted to condemn the president.

It was reported that by Thursday, the number of Republican members of Congress who had issued criticisms, had risen to 40. That remained a fraction of the more than 250 Republicans in either the upper or lower chamber.

Additional reporting by AP

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