El Paso congresswoman Veronica Escobar to Trump: 'You are not welcome here'
The Democratic congresswoman for El Paso has said that Donald Trump “is not welcome here”, one day before the president is set to visit a border city still reeling from one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent US history.
“From my perspective, he is not welcome here. He should not come here while we are in mourning,” Veronica Escobar, a Democratic freshman member of the House, told MSNBC’s Morning Joe program. “I would encourage the president’s staff members to have him do a little self-reflection. I would encourage them to show him his own words and his actions at the rallies.”
Trump, who plans to visit the Texas city as well as the scene of another mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday, has been widely criticized for failing to acknowledge the role of his rhetoric in emboldening white nationalists and fueling hatred of immigrants.
Related: White House aims to shift focus to Democrats amid scrutiny over Trump and racism
A manifesto, allegedly written by the 21-year-old suspect in the El Paso shooting, said the attack was a “response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas”. Donald Trump’s own re-election campaign has characterized immigration as an “invasion” in more than 2,000 Facebook ads this year, according to Guardian analysis.
Escobar, who succeeded the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke to lead the 16th congressional district of Texas, said she saw a connection between the way the gunman saw his victims in Walmart on Saturday and the language Trump uses in describing immigrants as “an infestation” and “an invasion”.
She said she wanted to tell the Republican president: “I need you to acknowledge that you’ve dehumanized people who are good and equal to all of us. And you need to rehumanize everyone.”
Later on Tuesday, Escobar announced that she had declined an invitation to join Donald Trump during his visit, after he rebuffed her request to discuss his racist comments about Mexicans and immigrants.
The White House invited me to join @realDonaldTrump during his visit to El Paso. My response was clear. I requested a phone call with him today in order to share what I have now heard from many constituents, including some who are victims of Saturday’s attack.
— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) August 6, 2019
I was told that @realDonaldTrump is “too busy” to have that conversation.
I declined the invitation because I refuse to be an accessory to his visit. I refuse to join without a dialogue about the pain his racist and hateful words & actions have caused our community and country.— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) August 6, 2019
Other El Paso officials, too, are urging Trump to reconsider his trip to the city.
“Regardless of what happened here on Saturday, he has constantly demonized, vilified the type of people who live in this community,” the El Paso county commissioner, David Stout, told ABC News on Tuesday. “I don’t understand why in the world anybody would think it would be a good idea for him to be in El Paso, Texas.”
"There's a gaping wound that's still open here, and a lot of us feel that @realDonaldTrump presence in this community tomorrow is just going to be throwing salt in that open wound," #ElPaso County Commissioner David Stout @CommStout tells @ABCNewsLive. pic.twitter.com/9tgFIq5NTD
— Devin Dwyer (@devindwyer) August 6, 2019
Adding to El Paso’s ire, the president’s re-election campaign still owes the city more than $500,000.
Trump held a February rally at an El Paso arena, and according to the Center for Public Integrity, the campaign has an unpaid balance to the city of $569,204.
“It’s ridiculous and unconscionable. The city of El Paso is an economically challenged community,” Stout said of the outstanding bill, according to various reports.
“He’s going to be throwing salt into the wound – a very, very deep wound,” Stout said. “And this community needs healing, not Donald Trump.”
