Some in GOP critical of Trump’s ‘go back’ tweets

• Ed Mahon
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  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Andrew Harnik / Associated Press

President Donald Trump speaks during a Made in America showcase on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 15, 2019.

We reached out to all 18 House members, 2 senators

Andrew Harnik / Associated Press

President Donald Trump speaks during a Made in America showcase on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 15, 2019.

• Most Democratic House members from Pa. were quick to condemn President Donald Trump’s Sunday statements that progressive Democratic congresswomen should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” Republicans had mixed reactions, we found as we reported this story.

• A few were critical, including Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey.“President Trump was wrong to suggest that four left-wing congresswomen should go back to where they came from,” Toomey said. But Toomey did not weigh in on whether the statements were racist.

• Some Republicans said nothing. Others sided with Trump. That includes Republican Congressman Scott Perry of York County, who instead criticized “anti-American and anti-Semitic comments uttered consistently by some socialist leaders.”

Best of the rest

Ximena Conde / WHYY

Many families spent their Sunday at Baker Playground pool in Overbrook, despite a shooting that injured seven people there the night before.

• An annual cookout in the Overbrook neighborhood of Philly ended with at least 20 shots fired and seven people injured, WHYY’s Ximena Conde reports. Conde looked at the impact the violence was having on people in the neighborhood.

• WESA’s Sarah Boden reports that senior citizens today are less likely to report symptoms of depression than previous generations. The story is based on a finding from University of Pittsburgh researchers.

• The York Daily Record analyzed the Facebook pages of more than 450 police officers from York County departments. Most officers didn’t post anything noteworthy, but reporters Dylan Segelbaum and Sam Ruland found some racist, sexist and anti-Muslim posts.