O’Rourke says Trump should not visit El Paso in wake of shooting

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) said he doesn’t think that President Trump is welcome in El Paso in the wake of a deadly shooting that left at least 22 dead.

“This president, who helped create the hatred that made Saturday’s tragedy possible, should not come to El Paso,” he tweeted Monday. “We do not need more division. We need to heal. He has no place here.” 

This president, who helped create the hatred that made Saturday’s tragedy possible, should not come to El Paso. We do not need more division. We need to heal. He has no place here.

— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) August 5, 2019

O’Rourke’s comments came after the Texas congresswoman who represents El Paso on Monday said Trump is not welcome in her district as the community mourns the death of the shooting victims.

“From my perspective he [Trump] is not welcome here. He should not come here while we are in mourning,” Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”{mosads}

The suspected El Paso shooter allegedly wrote a white nationalist manifesto ahead of his attack in the area near the U.S.-Mexico border, and many Democrats have pointed to the president’s rhetoric as encouraging violence.

Escobar said it is “probably unfair” to say the shooter came to El Paso because Trump held a February rally in the city, but she said Trump needs to reflect on his words and actions at rallies that could be inciting violent attacks such as the shooting.

Another mass shooting occurred within one day of the El Paso massacre when a gunman opened fire in Dayton, Ohio, killing nine.

Several 2020 Democratic presidential contenders, including former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have also called for action to end gun violence after the mass shootings.