President Donald Trump took to Twitter in the early hours of Tuesday morning to lash out at former President Barack Obama, criticizing his statement on the weekend’s mass shootings in Texas and Ohio. Trump tweeted edited quotes from Fox News, claiming he is “the least racist person” in the world.
“‘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.’”
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Trump’s message was a sentiment from Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade. Trump then shared another post paraphrasing a comment from Kilmeade’s morning show colleague, Ainsley Earhardt.
“It’s political season and the election is around the corner. They want to continue to push that racist narrative,’ @ainsleyearhardt @foxandfriends,” Trump wrote. “And I am the least racist person. Black, Hispanis and Asian Unemployment is the lowest (BEST) in the history of the United States!”
Monday afternoon, Obama spoke out against the violence that occurred Saturday morning in El Paso, Texas, and early Sunday morning in Dayton, Ohio, leaving 31 people dead in total and dozens more injured.
Obama called on Americans to “soundly reject language coming out fo the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments.” He did not mention Trump, or any other politician, by name, although many politicians have pointed to Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric in the aftermath of the El Paso shooting, which killed several Mexican nationals.
The 21-year-old white man accused of carrying out the El Paso shooting is suspected of authoring a racist, anti-Hispanic manifesto before his rampage.
On Monday, Trump condemned “racism, bigotry and white supremacy” during a televised address from the White House. “Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart and devours the soul,” he said.
He also cited mental health as factors in mass shootings. “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun,” he said, calling to “reform our mental health laws.”
“We must recognize that the internet has provided a dangerous avenue to radicalize disturbed minds and perform demented acts. We must shine line on the dark recesses of the internet and stop mass murders before they start. The internet, likewise, is used for human trafficking, illegal drug distribution and so many other heinous crimes. The perils of the internet and social media cannot be ignored and they will not be ignored,” he continued.
He called on the Department of Justice to “propose legislation ensuring that those who commit hate crimes and mass murders face the death penalty and that this capital punishment be delivered quickly, decisively and without years of needless delay.”
