July 17

Trump rally crowd chants "send her back" at Rep. Ilhan Omar after his racist attacks

At a re-election campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina on July 17, 2019, the crowd breaks into a sustained "send her back" chant targeting Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota after Trump repeats his earlier social media attacks on the four congresswomen of color known as the Squad. Omar, born in Somalia, became a U.S. citizen in 2000. Trump stands silent at the podium for 13 seconds as the chant rings through the arena before resuming his remarks. The scene — a sitting president allowing a crowd to demand the removal of a sitting congresswoman because of her national origin — draws bipartisan condemnation. Republican House Minority Whip Steve Scalise and others criticize the chant. Trump later claims he tried to stop the chant, which video does not support. The chant is a direct echo of Trump's July 14 tweets telling four women of color to "go back" to the countries they came from, three of whom were born in the United States.

Trump rally crowd chants send her back about Rep. Ilhan Omar as Trump pauses for 13 seconds

At a campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina on July 17, 2019, President Trump attacks Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) — a Somali-born U.S. citizen and congresswoman — by name, prompting the crowd to chant "Send her back!" for 13 seconds. Video reviewed by PolitiFact shows Trump does not interrupt the chant and pauses to let it grow, contradicting his later claim that he "tried to stop it quickly." Trump had spent several minutes attacking Omar specifically, accusing her of holding radical views and making statements he characterized as anti-American. The chant echoes Trump's July 14 tweets telling four congresswomen of color to "go back" to their countries. The Greenville mayor, Allen Thomas, denounces the chant: "The 'send her back' chant heard last night at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel is not reflective of who we are as a city." Omar, who spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the United States, calls the rally "a blatant Islamophobic attack." FBI reporting later documents that threats against members of the Squad spike following the tweets and rallies.

Trump reluctantly certifies Iran JCPOA compliance again and escalates non-nuclear sanctions

Trump certified Iran's JCPOA compliance for the second time while imposing new non-nuclear sanctions. Trump was reportedly reluctant. Tillerson, Defense Secretary Mattis, and NSA McMaster persuaded him. Trump later told the Wall Street Journal he expected to find Iran noncompliant.

NYPD officer kills Eric Garner with banned chokehold

New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo places Eric Garner, a Black man, in a chokehold during an arrest on Staten Island on July 17, 2014. Garner repeatedly says, "I can't breathe," and dies after the encounter. The killing is recorded on video and becomes a national symbol of police violence and low-level enforcement practices that disproportionately affect Black communities. A Staten Island grand jury later declines to indict Pantaleo. Garner's final words become a central protest slogan in the movement against police brutality.

Clinton signs Rome Statute joining the International Criminal Court framework

The United States joined 120 other nations in signing the Rome Statute on July 17, 1998, establishing the International Criminal Court. The Clinton administration signed the treaty at the end of Clinton's term on December 31, 2000 — within the final hours before the signing deadline — over objections from military and congressional leaders. The treaty required Senate ratification to take effect domestically; Clinton transmitted the treaty to the Senate, which never scheduled a ratification vote.