Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke accused President Donald Trump of inciting hatred after a mass shooting in his Texas hometown that police are investigating as a possible hate crime yesterday.
Speaking to reporters outside a hospital in El Paso where he was visiting victims of the shooting, O'Rourke said Trump had proven himself a racist with his recent attacks on four ethnic minority congresswomen and his past branding of Mexicans as rapists.
Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke has accused Donald Trump of inciting hatred after a mass shooting in Texas. https://t.co/CZTR1VkoN0
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"He is a racist and he stokes racism in this country. And it does not just offend our sensibilities, it fundamentally changes the character of this country and it leads to violence," said O'Rourke, who represented El Paso in the US Congress until recently.
"We've had a rise in hate crimes every single one of the last three years during an administration where you have a president who's called Mexicans rapists and criminals."
O'Rourke was responding to questions about a manifesto purportedly written by the gunman which railed against the Hispanic "invasion" of Texas which borders Mexico.
More than 80% of El Paso's population is Hispanic, according to US census figures.
Asked if any of the contents of the manifesto should "fall at the feet" of Trump, O'Rourke replied: "Yes."
"There are still details that we are waiting on but I'm just following the lead that I've heard from the El Paso police department where they say there are strong indications that this shooter wrote that manifesto and that this was inspired by his hatred of people here in this community."
After nearly ousting the incumbent Texas Senator Ted Cruz in last year's mid-term elections, O'Rourke had been one of the favourites to challenge Trump for the presidency when he announced his candidacy in March.
