President Donald Trump is heading to El Paso in the wake of the Walmart shooting that left more than 20 people dead. The shooting appears to have been the result of racist views held by the perpetrator, and many people have blamed Trump for inflaming racial tensions.
Beto O’Rourke, who is running for the Democratic nomination to run for president, has been particularly outspoken in regards to Trump. O’Rourke has blasted Trump on numerous occasions and has asked the president to skip visiting El Paso. El Paso is O’Rourke’s hometown. Speaking to the media, O’Rourke said: “Jesus Christ, of course he’s [President Trump] a racist.”
Trump fired back on O’Rourke, tweeting:
Beto (phony name to indicate Hispanic heritage) O’Rourke, who is embarrassed by my last visit to the Great State of Texas, where I trounced him, and is now even more embarrassed by polling at 1% in the Democrat Primary, should respect the victims & law enforcement – & be quiet!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2019
(O’Rourke, whose first name is Robert, claims that he has been called by his nickname “Beto” since he was an infant.)
President Trump is also feuding with former President Barack Obama. While Obama didn’t call Trump out by name, in a written statement he argued: “We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments.” Many believe that Obama was referring to Trump.
Again, President Trump took to Twitter to challenge Obama, arguing:
“Did George Bush ever condemn President Obama after Sandy Hook. President Obama had 32 mass shootings during his reign. Not many people said Obama is out of Control. Mass shootings were happening before the President even thought about running for Pres.” @kilmeade @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2019
Gun control and mass shootings figure to be hot political topics in the months ahead and especially as the 2020 race heats up. Republicans in Congress have thus far resisted calls for increased gun regulation, while Trump has largely remained mum on the topic since entering office.
Yet with mass shootings happening on such a regular basis, gun control will almost certainly force its way back into discussion.
