El Paso native Beto O'Rourke reacts to mass shooting
Democratic presidential candidate chokes back tears as he addresses the media; Claudia Cowan reports from Las Vegas.
Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke compared the rhetoric of President Trump to Nazi Germany Monday, before declaring, “Well, Jesus Christ, of course he’s racist.”
O’Rourke joined MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to discuss his thoughts on the tragic mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio when host Joe Scarborough criticized Republicans who don’t condemn rhetoric used by Trump.
“I mean the president has not been shy. He’s not been saying this behind closed doors. This is out in the open. All people of one religion, inherently defective ... should be banned from the shores of this country,” O’Rourke said on MSNBC. “The only modern Western democracy… that said anything close to this is the Third Reich, Nazi Germany.”
O’Rourke said Trump makes people “subhuman” and his “open racism” invites additional violence. The former Texas congressman then noted that media members are contributing to what he considers an ongoing issue in America.
“‘Hey, Beto, do you think the president is racist?’ O'Rourke said, mimicking a media member.
"Well, Jesus Christ, of course he’s racist! He’s been racist from Day 1,” O’Rourke said. “He’s trafficked in this stuff from the very beginning.”
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O’Rourke said, as a result, we are “reaping” what Trump, his supporters and Congress has “sown.”
In the wake of the back-to-back mass shootings that left at least 31 dead, the Democratic presidential candidates have dropped the usual decorum surrounding even tense policy debates like gun control, using coarse language to demonstrate their exasperation over the GOP response to gun violence and their calls for new gun control measures.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio have also leveled uncensored attacks on the president and Republicans in Congress.
Fox News’ Alex Pappas contributed to this report.
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