Beto Says Trump Is ‘Encouraging’ White Supremacist Violence With His Racism

Beto O'Rourke, a 2020 US presidential hopeful, speaks during the "We the People" gathering at the Warner Theatre on April 1, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo credit should re... Beto O'Rourke, a 2020 US presidential hopeful, speaks during the "We the People" gathering at the Warner Theatre on April 1, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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2020 candidate and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) on Sunday slammed President Donald Trump as a white nationalist who is “encouraging” the kind of mass shooting that occurred in El Paso, Texas on Saturday.

Texas authorities believe the suspected gunman, who killed at least 20 people when he fired at a Walmart parking lot, may have written a white nationalist manifesto railing against a Hispanic “invasion.”

O’Rourke, whose former district included El Paso, told CNN’s “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper that along with tighter gun control, politicians need to acknowledge the “environment” of “open racism” in the country that Trump is facilitating.

“We see it on Fox News, we see it on the internet but we also we see it from our commander-in-chief,” O’Rourke said. “And he is encouraging this. He doesn’t just tolerate it, he encourages it, calling Mexicans immigrants rapists and criminals.”

The Texas Democrat said that Trump’s racist rhetoric “doesn’t just offend us,” it also “encourages the kind of violence that we’re seeing, including in my home town of El Paso yesterday.”

Tapper asked O’Rourke if he agreed with Gov. Jay Inslee (D)’s charge that Trump is a “white nationalist.”

“Yes, I do,” the former congressman replied.

Trump tweeted early Sunday morning that the El Paso shooting was an “act of cowardice” and that he condemns the “hateful act.”

Watch Beto below:

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