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Trump asked how he would feel if Melania was told to 'go back to her country' after his 'racist' rant against 'the squad'

The president had recently told a group of radical, progressive congresswomen to 'go back' to the 'crime-infested places from which they came' if they did not like the United States

A CBS reporter asked President Trump how he'd feel if First Lady Melania Trump, who was born in Slovenia, was told to "go back to her country".

The question was in reference to Trump's Twitter attacks on 'the squad'. 

The president asked the group of radical, progressive congresswomen to "go back" to the "crime-infested places from which they came" if they had a problem with the United States, Unilad reports.

Weija Jiang, a CBS White House Correspondent, claimed that Trump "did not answer" her controversial question during the July 18 press conference.

Jiang drew a comparison between the first lady and the four congresswomen attacked by the president, complaining the former had been a US citizen for a "shorter time."

According to the report, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley were born and raised in the US, while Somali-born Ilhan Omar came to the country as the child belonging to a refugee family.

Meanwhile, Melania was born in Slovenia and married real estate mogul Donald Trump in 2005. She subsequently became a US citizen in 2006.

While Melania has not commented on her husband's controversial statements, her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham tweeted: "So typical to watch the mainstream media and Dems attack @realDonaldTrump for speaking directly to the American people. His message is simple: the USA is the greatest nation on Earth, but if people aren’t happy here they don’t have to stay."

The president sparked outrage after a campaign rally in North Carolina saw more than 8,000 people chant "send her back", echoing his attacks on Omar.

During the July 18 press conference, Trump initially said he was "unhappy" with the chants, but maintained that the crowds were "incredible patriots" and "people that love our country."

"I felt a little bit badly about it. I would say that I was not happy with it. I disagreed with it. But again, I didn’t say that. They did. And I disagreed with it," Sky News quoted him saying.