Obama calls out leaders who feed 'a climate of fear and hatred' after mass shootings

Former President Obama on Monday urged Americans to demand tougher gun control laws and reject leaders who normalize racism following two mass shootings that left more than 30 people dead.

Obama in a statement released on Monday afternoon following the weekend tragedies in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio wrote that "we are not helpless here," urging Americans to "insist on holding public officials accountable for changing our gun laws." Otherwise, he said, "these tragedies will keep happening."

The former president also calls on law enforcement and internet platforms to find ways to "reduce the influence" of hate groups, pointing to the fact that the El Paso shooter appears to have been "radicalized by white nationalist websites."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

From there, Obama seems to call out President Trump without naming him directly, saying Americans must "reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments," as well as "leaders who demonize those who don't look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life."

Obama concludes by saying that such language has "no place in our politics" and that all Americans must say so "clearly and unequivocally."

President Trump in an address on Monday morning had said that "in one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy," adding that "these sinister ideologies must be defeated" and that "hate has no place in America."

Read Obama's full statement per NBC News below. Brendan Morrow