US shootings put Trump under pressure on racism and guns
Critics blame US president's incendiary language about immigration for violence

Donald Trump is under pressure on two fronts following the weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. The shootings, which left at least 29 people dead, have seen the US president face outrage over racism and the failure of gun control in America.
“Hate has no place in our country, and we are going to take care of it,” said Trump on Sunday. “This has been going on for years, for years and years in our country and we have to get it stopped.”
The president linked both attacks to a “mental illness problem”, saying: “If you look at both of these cases, this is mental illness. These are people who are very, very seriously mentally ill,” he said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, as the BBC points out, “critics argue that the roots of the two massacres lie not in mental illness, but in the president's language about immigrants and Mexicans in particular, and his opposition to gun control”.
The Times points out that the FBI has made about 100 arrests linked to white supremacy this year, which critics link to Trump’s remarks that migrants are “invading” the United States. He has singled out Hispanic migrants as “rapists” and “criminals”.
Senior Democrats have “condemned the president as a nakedly white nationalist and racist leader,” The Guardian says, pointing to “Trump’s escalating attacks on migrants at the border and on members of Congress of colour”.
Among those Democrats is Cory Booker, a US senator from New Jersey. He said Trump “is responsible for what is going on and is doing nothing to stop the carnage and chaos”.
Beto O'Rourke, who was born in El Paso, went even further, telling CNN: “Let's be very clear about what is causing this and who the president is. He is an open avowed racist and is encouraging more racism in this country.”
Looking ahead, CNN suggests that Trump should “use the bully pulpit of his presidency to attack the ideological underpinnings of right-wing violence rather than stoking its flames”.
Meanwhile, the attacks have naturally increased calls for gun control in the US. A surprising voice joining the chorus is that of the New York Post. The right-wing tabloid’s front page calls on Trump to “ban weapons of war”, telling him “America is scared and we need bold action”.
The Wall Street Journal says the weekend’s attacks have seen gun control “thrust into” the 2020 White House election campaign, with Trump conceding “perhaps more has to be done” to prevent mass shootings.
Some are sceptical that this will be the moment when America begins to wrestle the issue, pointing out that if the 2012 Newtown shooting, when 26 people - including 20 young children - were killed in a Connecticut school, then there is little reason to expect change now.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - March 16, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - head games, skyfall, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 explosively funny cartoons about Musk's faulty spacecrafts
Cartoons Artists take on trading up, blowing up, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Russia's spies: skulduggery in Great Yarmouth
In the Spotlight 'Amateurish' spy ring in Norfolk seaside town exposes the decline of Russian intelligence
By The Week UK Published
-
J.D. Vance: Trump's attack dog
In the Spotlight The 'hillbilly in the White House' is used to being the odd one out in a room
By The Week UK Published
-
Is Donald Trump a Russian agent?
The Explainer 'We have to consider the possibility that President Trump is a Russian asset' former Tory minister Graham Stuart tweeted last week. Do we?
By The Week UK Published
-
Trump's military makeover: fewer rules, more violence
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The president and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have begun dramatically rewriting the guidelines for armed forces' operations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump pulls nomination of anti-vax CDC pick
Speed Read Former Florida congressmen Dr. Dave Weldon was nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Judges tell Trump to rehire fired federal workers
Speed Read Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE team face a big setback in their efforts to shrink the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How feasible is a Ukraine ceasefire?
Today's Big Question Kyiv has condemned Putin's 'manipulative' response to proposed agreement
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Is America heading toward competitive authoritarianism?
Today's Big Question Some experts argue that the country's current democratic system is fading
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Detention centers have, for decades, been an abuse of administrative power'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published