Obama criticises Trump rhetoric and compares 'racist ideologies' behind mass shootings to 'followers of Isis' in powerful open letter

Former president Barack Obama has denounced the divisive language coming from American leaders like Donald Trump, which he says "feeds a climate of fear and hatred" and "normalises racist sentiments", in light of the shootings in El Paso and Dayton over the weekend.

Mr Obama did not mention his successor by name in his statement, which drew parallels between "racist ideologies" fuelling the kinds of shootings that have left America reeling to the "followers of Isis and other foreign terrorist organisations".

The former president's statement follows just days after the attack left at least 31 dead in Ohio and Texas, with the latter being carried out by a white man who reportedly wrote anti-immigrant screeds online before the shooting in a heavily Hispanic city.

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There "are indications that the El Paso shooting follows a dangerous trend: troubled individuals who embrace racist ideologies and see themselves obligated to act violently to preserve white supremacy." Mr Obama wrote. "Like the followers of Isis and other foreign terrorist organisations, these individuals may act alone, but they’ve been radicalised by white nationalist websites that proliferate on the internet."

He also called upon American politicians to stand up to change gun laws, and for those officials to be held accountable.

Shape Created with Sketch. El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Show all 39 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store 1/39 CCTV images of the gunman identified as Patrick Crusius The 21 year old, as he entered the Cielo Vista Walmart store in El Paso. The gunman was armed with an assault rifle and opened fire on shoppers at a packed Walmart store, killing 20. KTSM 9/AFP/Getty 2/39 Law enforcement agencies respond The Texas city’s police chief said the assault on a Walmart store on Saturday, which left another 26 people wounded, was being investigated as a potential hate crime. AFP/Getty 3/39 Shoppers exit with their hands up Reuters 4/39 FBI released a picture of gunman Patrick Crusius The police officially identified the 21-year-old white male from Allen, Texas, a Dallas suburb some 650 miles east of El Paso. FBI/AP 5/39 A woman reacts after the mass shooting The attack came just minutes after a far-right manifesto appeared online. If authentic, it would make it the third mass shooting this year announced in advance on the website, which often features far-right and racist content. Reuters 6/39 Law enforcement responds to the active shooter The racist four-page document, titled “The Inconvenient Truth”, calls the Walmart attack “a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas” and expresses support for the gunman who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand earlier this year. AFP/Getty 7/39 A shopper hiding with an old lady behind the return and exchanges counter as the shooting began. Aaron Castaneda/Reuters 8/39 Ambulances in the car park near the scene It is ranked as the eighth-deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, after a 1984 shooting in San Ysidro, California, that claimed 21 lives. AP 9/39 Kendall Long (left) comforts Kianna Long (right) who was in the freezer section of Walmart. EPA 10/39 EPA 11/39 Shoppers exit with their hands up. Reuters 12/39 Shopping carts sit next to a curb after the shooting. EPA 13/39 El Paso Fire Medical personnel arrive at the scene. AP 14/39 Walmart employees react after. AP 15/39 A woman runs to police near the scene. AP 16/39 Several law enforcement agencies respond. AP 17/39 People arrive at MacArthur Elementary looking for family and friends as the school is being used a re-unification centre. AP 18/39 Residents Erica Rios, 36, and Alma Rios, 61, cry outside a reunification centre. AFP/Getty 19/39 People gather in Juarez, Mexico, in a vigil for the Mexican nationals who were killed. AP 20/39 A child takes part in a vigil in Ciudad Juarez AFP/Getty 21/39 Francisco Castaneda joins mourners taking part in a vigil at El Paso High School. Reuters 22/39 Presidential candidate and former congressman Beto O'Rourke, right, meets with mass shooting survivor, Rosemary, at University Medical Centre Beto O'Rourke Facebook via AP 23/39 From left, Melody Stout, Hannah Payan, Aaliyah Alba, Sherie Gramlich and Laura Barrios comfort each other during a vigil for victims of the shooting. AP 24/39 A sign is posted near the scene Getty Images 25/39 Police cars parked below the Walmart sign block a road outside while investigating. EPA 26/39 Sherie Gramlich reacts during a vigil. AP 27/39 A man places flowers at the site Reuters 28/39 People take part in a rally against hate a day after a mass shooting at the Walmart store Reuters 29/39 Lupe Lopez holds a picture of a victim during a vigil for victims AP 30/39 REUTERS 31/39 Elsa Mendoza Marquez, a Mexican schoolteacher who was married and the mother of two adult children, was one of the victims Getty 32/39 People with the Mexican flag and the US flag take part in a rally against hate a day Reuters 33/39 People raise their arms in the air during a vigil for victims AP 34/39 People react and embrace each other Getty 35/39 Women light candles at a make shift memorial at the site of a mass shooting EPA 36/39 Adria Gonzalez (centre) who is being hailed as a hero for leading some Walmart customers to safety, speaks to the crowd AFP/Getty 37/39 People hold up their phones AFP/Getty Images 38/39 Beto O'Rourke speaks to the crowd AFP/Getty 39/39 AFP/Getty 1/39 CCTV images of the gunman identified as Patrick Crusius The 21 year old, as he entered the Cielo Vista Walmart store in El Paso. The gunman was armed with an assault rifle and opened fire on shoppers at a packed Walmart store, killing 20. KTSM 9/AFP/Getty 2/39 Law enforcement agencies respond The Texas city’s police chief said the assault on a Walmart store on Saturday, which left another 26 people wounded, was being investigated as a potential hate crime. AFP/Getty 3/39 Shoppers exit with their hands up Reuters 4/39 FBI released a picture of gunman Patrick Crusius The police officially identified the 21-year-old white male from Allen, Texas, a Dallas suburb some 650 miles east of El Paso. FBI/AP 5/39 A woman reacts after the mass shooting The attack came just minutes after a far-right manifesto appeared online. If authentic, it would make it the third mass shooting this year announced in advance on the website, which often features far-right and racist content. Reuters 6/39 Law enforcement responds to the active shooter The racist four-page document, titled “The Inconvenient Truth”, calls the Walmart attack “a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas” and expresses support for the gunman who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand earlier this year. AFP/Getty 7/39 A shopper hiding with an old lady behind the return and exchanges counter as the shooting began. Aaron Castaneda/Reuters 8/39 Ambulances in the car park near the scene It is ranked as the eighth-deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, after a 1984 shooting in San Ysidro, California, that claimed 21 lives. AP 9/39 Kendall Long (left) comforts Kianna Long (right) who was in the freezer section of Walmart. EPA 10/39 EPA 11/39 Shoppers exit with their hands up. Reuters 12/39 Shopping carts sit next to a curb after the shooting. EPA 13/39 El Paso Fire Medical personnel arrive at the scene. AP 14/39 Walmart employees react after. AP 15/39 A woman runs to police near the scene. AP 16/39 Several law enforcement agencies respond. AP 17/39 People arrive at MacArthur Elementary looking for family and friends as the school is being used a re-unification centre. AP 18/39 Residents Erica Rios, 36, and Alma Rios, 61, cry outside a reunification centre. AFP/Getty 19/39 People gather in Juarez, Mexico, in a vigil for the Mexican nationals who were killed. AP 20/39 A child takes part in a vigil in Ciudad Juarez AFP/Getty 21/39 Francisco Castaneda joins mourners taking part in a vigil at El Paso High School. Reuters 22/39 Presidential candidate and former congressman Beto O'Rourke, right, meets with mass shooting survivor, Rosemary, at University Medical Centre Beto O'Rourke Facebook via AP 23/39 From left, Melody Stout, Hannah Payan, Aaliyah Alba, Sherie Gramlich and Laura Barrios comfort each other during a vigil for victims of the shooting. AP 24/39 A sign is posted near the scene Getty Images 25/39 Police cars parked below the Walmart sign block a road outside while investigating. EPA 26/39 Sherie Gramlich reacts during a vigil. AP 27/39 A man places flowers at the site Reuters 28/39 People take part in a rally against hate a day after a mass shooting at the Walmart store Reuters 29/39 Lupe Lopez holds a picture of a victim during a vigil for victims AP 30/39 REUTERS 31/39 Elsa Mendoza Marquez, a Mexican schoolteacher who was married and the mother of two adult children, was one of the victims Getty 32/39 People with the Mexican flag and the US flag take part in a rally against hate a day Reuters 33/39 People raise their arms in the air during a vigil for victims AP 34/39 People react and embrace each other Getty 35/39 Women light candles at a make shift memorial at the site of a mass shooting EPA 36/39 Adria Gonzalez (centre) who is being hailed as a hero for leading some Walmart customers to safety, speaks to the crowd AFP/Getty 37/39 People hold up their phones AFP/Getty Images 38/39 Beto O'Rourke speaks to the crowd AFP/Getty 39/39 AFP/Getty

"No other developed nation tolerates the levels of gun violence that we do. Every time this happens, we’re told that tougher gun laws won’t stop all murders; that they won’t stop every deranged individual from getting a weapon and shooting innocent people in public places," Mr Obama wrote.

He continued: "But the evidence shows that they can stop some killings. They can save some families from heartbreak. We are not helpless here. And until all of us stand up and insist on holding public officials accountable for changing our gun laws, these tragedies will keep happening."

Mr Trump has been repeatedly criticised in the aftermath of the shootings for his anti-immigrant rhetoric, with those critics citing Mr Trump's frequent derision of migrants in America as a concerning element of a presidency built around division and fear.

Sandra Cordero, the director of the pro-immigrant group Families Belong Together, placed the blame on Mr Trump, too, in spite of his denunciation of white supremacy on Monday.

"As we watch president Trump attempt to condemn white supremacy, we cannot ignore the role his hateful rhetoric played in the deaths of at least 22 people in El Paso," Ms Cordero said. "Once again, this administration's decision to double down on white supremacist ideologies has led to the bloodshed of innocent people."

The shooting in El Paso is being treated as a domestic terrorist incident by federal investigators.