White House aims to shift focus to Democrats amid scrutiny over Trump and racism
The White House has attempted to shift focus on to Democrats and the media in an apparent bid to deflect scrutiny over the role Donald Trump’s rhetoric might have played in the mass shooting targeting El Paso’s predominantly Hispanic community.
In interviews with Fox News on Tuesday, the president’s aides repeatedly rejected assertions that the suspect in El Paso, who allegedly authored a hate-filled manifesto echoing Trump’s incendiary language on immigration, may have been influenced or emboldened by the president.
They instead sought to elevate reports that the gunman in Dayton, Ohio, allegedly shared leftwing posts on social media and supported the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren.
Law enforcement officials said Tuesday that the Dayton shooting did not appear to be linked to a “bias motive”. Authorities are meanwhile investigating the shooting in El Paso – which left 22 dead, including seven Mexican nationals – as an act of domestic terrorism.
The White House counselor Kellyanne Conway nonetheless lashed out at Democrats and the media for not dedicating more coverage to the Dayton suspect’s political views.
Related: Trump gets it wrong on mass shootings, but Republicans deserve the blame
“Let me tell you something, I’m hopping mad this morning because I see very little, scant coverage that this Dayton shooter has been confirmed as having a Twitter feed that was supportive of Antifa, that was supportive of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders,” Conway said during an appearance on Fox & Friends, one of the network’s most prominent boosters of Trump.
The White House spokesman Hogan Gidley echoed the critique later in the day in his own interview with Fox News, stating: “It is disgusting to watch so many on the left come before cameras within five hours of this tragedy and lie about this president and have pathetic comments about the state of this country and where the president stands.”
“We do not blame, nor do we even dream of blaming Elizabeth Warren for the shooter in Ohio who wanted to vote for her,” he added, while listing off other acts of violence allegedly committed by individuals who appeared to support Democratic politicians.
“That is ridiculous. We wouldn’t dream of doing it and you cannot apply that standard to us and ignore it on the Democrats’ side.”
Warren’s team issued a statement on Tuesday evening, arguing that the attacks were a “distraction”.
“Let’s be clear – there is a direct line between the president’s rhetoric and the stated motivations of the El Paso shooter. This is an attempt to distract from the fact that Trump’s rhetoric is inciting violence as extremist-related murders have spiked 35 percent from 2017 to 2018,” the statement read.
Trump has routinely targeted nonwhite immigrants, Muslims and other minorities at his rallies and pushed conspiracy theories to stoke fears around immigration. The suspect in El Paso expressed fears about a “Hispanic invasion” of the US, using the same language often employed by Trump and Fox News.
There is meanwhile no evidence at this stage to suggest that the Dayton suspect’s leftwing views had any bearing on his decision to open fire on a crowded street early Sunday, killing nine people and injuring 27 more.
Addressing the massacres on Monday, Trump denounced racism and white supremacy in a speech that did not include any calls for new gun laws.
The president, who is poised to visit Dayton and El Paso on Wednesday, has since expressed frustration over his anti-immigrant rants coming under scrutiny.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump directed his ire at Barack Obama for issuing a statement on the shootings.
“Did George Bush ever condemn President Obama after Sandy Hook. President Obama had 32 mass shootings during his reign. Not many people said Obama is out of Control,’” Trump tweeted. “‘Mass shootings were happening before the President even thought about running for Pres.”
Trump was paraphrasing comments made by the Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade, a vocal supporter of the president.
“I am the least racist person,” Trump added. “Black, Hispanic and Asian Unemployment is the lowest (BEST) in the history of the United States!”
In a statement issued Monday, Obama did not invoke Trump directly but pointedly rebuked rhetoric from elected officials that “normalizes racist sentiments”.
“We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don’t look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people,” Obama wrote.
