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."
.@jonkarl: "You've said [Trump] is fueling hate in this country. Are you suggesting that he bears responsibility for what we just saw in El Paso?"
Beto O'Rourke: "I am, because he does ... he doesn't just tolerate, he encourages the kind of open racism" https://t.co/jFiFc6RiVE pic.twitter.com/CCQYklIrAe — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 5, 2019
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
procrastination_city on August 5th, 2019 at 17:17 UTC »
Angry Beto is so much more likeable than Obama Impression Beto.
theeverymandoctrine on August 5th, 2019 at 15:42 UTC »
Beto is at his best when he's being honest and not pretending to be something he's not
ValiantCorvus on August 5th, 2019 at 15:29 UTC »
It's sad that it's become a profile in courage to point out that the elephant in the room is, indeed, clearly an elephant