Democratic 2020 presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke responded with refreshing honesty when a reporter asked him what President Trump can do in the aftermath of the mass shooting that took place in O’Rourke’s hometown of El Paso, Texas, where a white supremacist shooter killed at least 20 people, most of whom were Latinx, at a Walmart .
After the unidentified reporter asked, “Is there anything in your mind that the president can do now to make this any better?” O’Rourke gave his unfiltered assessment of the question.
“What do you think? You know the shit he’s been saying. He’s been calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals.” O’Rourke said. “I don’t know, like, members of the press, what the fuck?”
O’Rourke continued: “Hold on a second. You know, I— it’s these questions that you know the answers to. I mean, connect the dots about what he’s been doing in this country. He’s not tolerating racism, he’s promoting racism. He’s not tolerating violence, he’s inciting racism and violence in this country. So, um, you know, I just— I don’t know what kind of question that is.”
‘What the f***?’ – Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke says President Trump’s language against minorities promotes racial division and violence.
Two mass shootings left 29 people dead this weekend in the US.
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— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 5, 2019
That’s probably the best answer on the situation you’re going to hear from a politician running for president; unfortunately, it’s coming from an underperforming candidate in an overly crowded field. Perhaps O’Rourke should bring some of this fire back to Texas and use it to unseat Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who responded to the act of white nationalist domestic terrorism in his constituency with the following toothless statement: “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. Sadly, there are some issues, like homelessness and these shootings, where we simply don’t have all the answers.”
