Trump’s racism led to violence, O’Rourke says, after El Paso shooter targeted Hispanics
Democratic presidential candidate and El Paso native Beto O’Rourke said President Donald Trump’s “racism does not just offend our sensibilities, it fundamentally changes the character of this country and it leads to violence.”
O’Rourke’s stern words came after 20 people were killed and 26 wounded when a gunman opened fire at an El Paso shopping center on Saturday in an act of domestic terrorism, according to the FBI.
As of 5:30 p.m. Sunday, two victims had been identified: Jordan Anchondo, a 25-year-old mother of three who is being praised for shielding her 2-month-old son from gunfire, and Arturo Benavides, a 67-year-old veteran who was a well-known bus driver in El Paso.
Authorities were working to confirm whether a racist, anti-immigrant screed posted online shortly before the shooting was written by the man arrested in the attack in the border city of 680,000.
In the manifesto, the author said the attack was “a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
Trump has written on Twitter about an “invasion” from Mexico repeatedly since he took office.
- “This is an invasion of our Country and our Military is waiting for you!,” he wrote Oct. 29.
- “The problem is that Mexico is an ‘abuser’ of the United States, taking but never giving. It has been this way for decades. Either they stop the invasion of our Country by Drug Dealers, Cartels, Human Traffickers ....,” he wrote in June.
- “I am stopping an invasion as the Wall gets built,” he wrote March 9.
- In January, the president said he was sending more troops to the southern border “to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our Country” and in November said that the U.S. was “ill-prepared for this invasion,” of migrants.
On Sunday morning, Trump said on Twitter, “God bless the people of El Paso Texas. God Bless the people of Dayton, Ohio,” the scene of another mass shooting that happened within 24 hours of the El Paso massacre, leading to the deaths of nine people.
Trump said that the shooting was an “act of cowardice.”
“I know that I stand with everyone in this Country to condemn today’s hateful act. There are no reasons or excuses that will ever justify killing innocent people” he wrote in the Tweet.
“Melania and I send our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the great people of Texas.”
At about 3:30 p.m., he ordered the flags to be flown half-staff at all federal government buildings through Thursday.
During an address about both shootings, Trump said “perhaps more has to be done” to address gun violence.
“We’ve done actually a lot,” he said.
In 2018, the Trump administration officially banned bump stocks.
On CNN Saturday evening, O’Rourke directly correlated the shooting in El Paso to Trump’s comments on Mexicans.
“We’ve had a rise in hate crimes, every single one, in the last three years, during an administration where you have a president who has called Mexicans rapists and criminals though Mexican immigrants commit crimes at a far lower rate than those born here in the country,” O’Rourke said. “He has tried to make us afraid of them, to some real effect and consequence.”
O’Rourke said there are still details he’s waiting to hear about what happened in El Paso, but said he’s “following the lead that I’ve heard from the El Paso Police Department where they say there are strong indications that this shooter wrote that manifesto and this was inspired by his hatred of people here in this community.”
The manifesto has circulated online as being written by the accused shooter, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, who has resided in Allen, according to public records. Police have not publicly confirmed that Crusius wrote the manifesto, but it is being investigated.
The writer of the manifesto said he is “simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion” and that the Hispanic community wasn’t the target until he read “The Great Replacement,” a white nationalist conspiracy theory.
Trump said he will make an official statement about the mass shootings on Monday morning.
Other responses to El Paso shooting
Other Democratic presidential candidates also released statements about the shooting and pointed fingers at the White House.
“Tonight I’m heartsick for El Paso & I’m once again disgusted by the GOP leadership in Washington,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said. “Americans shouldn’t have to live in fear that if they go to Walmart, or a festival, or school, or just walk down the street that they won’t make it home alive. This has to stop.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders called the shooting another white nationalist domestic terror attack.
“After every tragedy the Senate, intimidated by the NRA’s power, does nothing,” he wrote. “This must change. We need a president and Congress that listen to Americans, not the ideology of a right-wing extremist organization. We must pass common sense gun safety legislation. We must come together to reject this dangerous and growing culture of bigotry espoused by Trump and his allies. Instead of wasting money putting children in cages, we must seriously address the scourge of violent bigotry and domestic terrorism.”
Sen. Cory Booker condemned the language used by Trump.
“When he refuses to condemn Neo-Nazis and white supremacists — Trump is giving license to this kind of violence. He’s responsible,” he said.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard took a different approach on Twitter and thanked first responders.
“Sending all of our love and strength to the people of El Paso during this terrible tragedy,” she wrote. “Thank you to the brave first responders, putting their lives on the line to prevent more from being killed. We can and must come together to prevent these senseless shootings.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden pointed to an epidemic of gun violence.
“Heartbroken to hear the news from El Paso,” he wrote. “Our thoughts are with those impacted by yet another senseless act of gun violence in America. How many lives must be cut short? How many communities must be torn apart? It’s past time we take action and end our gun violence epidemic.”
This story was originally published August 4, 2019 at 11:42 AM.
