“He is not welcome here,” Congresswoman says ahead of Trump’s visit to El Paso
After a weekend of deadly mass shootings that resulted in the death of 31 people, sources announced President Donald Trump will be visiting the grieving communities on Wednesday — first stopping at Dayton, Ohio and later El Paso, Texas.
Given the criticism Trump has received for his racist rhetoric fueling white supremacy in the country, it came at no surprise that social leaders, politicians, and community members would reject his visit to El Paso, telling him to “stay away.”
“From my perspective, he is not welcome here. He should not come here while we are in mourning,” El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program on Tuesday.
Rep. Escobar represents the district of El Paso where on Saturday a gunman walked into a Walmart and opened fire, resulting in the death of 22 people and injuring another 24.
According to the AP, Rep. Escobar said she would not be accompanying Trump during his visit but if given the chance to speak to him directly this is what she would say: “I need you to acknowledge that you’ve dehumanized people who are good and equal to all of us. And you need to re-humanize everyone.”
She’s not alone in this sentiment.
Democratic presidential candidate and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke joined the Congresswoman in saying Trump is not welcome in their hometown of El Paso.
“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,” O’Rourke tweeted.
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
The Border Network for Human Rights, an immigration reform and human rights advocacy organization in El Paso, Texas, started a social media campaign asking community organizations and residents to sign a letter asking President Trump not to visit El Paso on Wednesday.
CONTENIDO RELACIONADO
“It is clear to us that the president was part of this problem. His racist rhetoric, his narrative against migrants, the fact that he has called Mexican migrants criminals and rapists; All that I think has driven for someone like the shooter to come here to make these attacks,” Director of BNHR, Fernando García told news outlet El Diario de El Paso.
Further details of President Trump’s visit to El Paso have not yet been released.
In Dayton, Ohio, Mayor Nan Whaley said she would meet with President Trump when he visits the city this week.
On Tuesday, Mayor Whaley told reporters she was “disappointed” with Trump’s statement on Monday and that the president has been “unhelpful” on gun issues.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley says President Trump has been "unhelpful" in the wake of the mass shooting: "Yesterday, his comments weren't very helpful to the issue around guns" https://t.co/H9n7JKbYS7 pic.twitter.com/F1NJLDMT7I
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 6, 2019
Whaley added that she has “no sense of what’s in President Trump’s mind at all.”
Nine people lost their lives when a gunman opened fire in the Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio early Sunday.
“I can only hope that, as president of the United States, that he’s coming here because he wants to add value to our community,” Whaley said. “That’s all I can hope.”
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