Barack Obama: “There is a huge opportunity for jobs and infrastructure development at the ports to prepare for a Post-Panamax world.”

And I will fight for that, even if I don’t always think it’s going to win.

The effort, he said, “should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar’s political views.”

People need to “rediscover what’s the story we tell about how we’re going to live together, and see each other, and recognise each other, and disagree, and yet, still care for each other”.

It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say.