Former presidential candidate and Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump is “afraid” of “Squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) because her life story is more “American” than Trump’s.

“Of course President Trump’s comments about Representative Ayanna Pressley are racist. But even more revolting is his defense: pretending he’s not attacking her race, but rather her lack of patriotism. Pressley’s entire life has been a story of patriotism: loving her country so much that she wanted to help America live up to its ideals,” Kerry wrote in a letter to the Boston Globe defending Pressley. “A strong woman raised in public housing by a fearless mother who sacrificed to keep her safe? An activist who found in Boston a life of public service and a determination to speak up for people who were underrepresented? That story identifies as more “American” than any mantle this president could ever claim. No wonder Donald Trump is afraid of her.”

Pressley was Kerry’s political director and scheduler when Kerry was a senator from Massachusetts, and Kerry has defended Pressley, whom he considers “family,” on numerous occasions after Trump’s “go back” tweets over the weekend about the “Squad.”