Beto O'Rourke tells CNN's Jake Tapper he thinks Trump is a white nationalist following shootings
Back-to-back mass shootings this weekend in El Paso and Dayton have inspired new calls for increased gun regulations, but it's not just the NRA and the Second Amendment that have drawn people's ire.
Several people have placed the blame on President Trump's rhetoric, especially in reference to the El Paso shooting. The suspected gunman, a 21-year-old white male named Patrick Crusius, may have written an online manifesto that described an attack on the border city in response to "the Hispanic invasion of Texas." Trump has spoken in similar terms about the influx of migrants at the southern border, which his administration is trying to curb through construction of a border wall and government raids.
Presidential candidates Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), former Housing Secretary Julián Castro, and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas), who hails from El Paso, said Trump was responsible for the incidents, and O'Rourke said that he believes Trump is a white nationalist.
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.
Conservative analysts haven't shied away from questioning whether Trump's language played a role in the shootings, either.
Trump condemned the shooting, but did not make any mention of the alleged manifesto. Following a mass shooting in New Zealand in March, which was carried out by a white supremacist, Trump said only a small group of people were white nationalists.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Could Trump run for a third term?The Explainer Constitutional amendment limits US presidents to two terms, but Trump diehards claim there is a loophole
-
Political cartoons for November 28Cartoons Friday's political cartoons include economic diagnosis, climate distractions, and more
-
What does the fall in net migration mean for the UK?Today’s Big Question With Labour and the Tories trying to ‘claim credit’ for lower figures, the ‘underlying picture is far less clear-cut’
-
Could Trump run for a third term?The Explainer Constitutional amendment limits US presidents to two terms, but Trump diehards claim there is a loophole
-
Trump’s Ukraine peace talks advance amid leaked callSpeed Read Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit Russia next week
-
Memo signals Trump review of 233k refugeesSpeed Read The memo also ordered all green card applications for the refugees to be halted
-
Judge tosses Trump DOJ cases against Comey, JamesSpeed Read Both cases could potentially be brought again
-
X’s location update exposes international troll industryIn the Spotlight Social media platform’s new transparency feature reveals ‘scope and geographical breadth’ of accounts spreading misinformation
-
Tariffs: Will Trump’s reversal lower prices?Feature Retailers may not pass on the savings from tariff reductions to consumers
-
Trump: Is he losing control of MAGA?Feature We may be seeing the ‘first meaningful right-wing rebellion against autocracy of this era’
-
Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein: a TimelineIN DEPTH The alleged relationship between deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump has become one of the most acute threats to the president’s power
