'Jesus Christ, of course he's racist,' Beto O'Rourke vehemently says of Trump, tying him to weekend shootings
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke has no questions about what led to this past weekend's mass shootings.
After 20 people were killed in his hometown of El Paso, Texas and another nine were killed in Dayton, Ohio, the Democratic presidential candidate passionately told reporters that President Trump is "inciting racism and violence in this country." And in two Monday morning show appearances, he definitely didn't backtrack.
O'Rourke first appeared on ABC News' This Week, where White House correspondent Jon Karl asked if O'Rourke was saying Trump "bears responsibility for what we just saw in El Paso." "I am," O'Rourke responded, bringing up how Trump has labeled Mexicans as "rapists and criminals" and saying he "encourages the kind of open racism ... that we saw here in El Paso, Texas."
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.
O'Rourke got even more heated during his Morning Joe spot, comparing Trump's rhetoric surrounding Mexicans and Muslims to "the Third Reich" of "Nazi Germany." He then described how fed up he was with questions of whether Trump is racist. "Jesus Christ, of course he's racist," O'Rourke said. "He's been racist since day one — before day one." Kathryn Krawczyk
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Sepsis ‘breakthrough’: the world’s first targeted treatment?The Explainer New drug could reverse effects of sepsis, rather than trying to treat infection with antibiotics
-
James Van Der Beek obituary: fresh-faced Dawson’s Creek starIn The Spotlight Van Der Beek fronted one of the most successful teen dramas of the 90s – but his Dawson fame proved a double-edged sword
-
Is Andrew’s arrest the end for the monarchy?Today's Big Question The King has distanced the royal family from his disgraced brother but critics claim a ‘fit of revolutionary disgust’ could still wipe them out
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
