On Saturday, August 3, 2019, at least 20 people were shot and kill and 26 were seriously injured at an El Paso, Texas Walmart when a man armed with a military style assault rifle went into the packed store and opened fired. The 21-year-old man was arrested without incident and identified as Patrick Crusius from a suburb near Dallas, Texas. He was taken into custody without incident.
It is believed by law enforcement that the gunman planned and carefully selected the Walmart store because it was filled with Hispanic families and and shoppers from Mexico. Authorities reported that they found “manifesto” purportedly written by Patrick Crusius, perhaps even in the hours before the shooting attack. His social media activity showed support and sympathy for Trump’s white nationalist agenda. According to one report, the shooter allegedly professed his white nationalist ideology and his belief that Texas is under a “Hispanic invasion” and advocating building Trump’s border wall.
Pages of the manifesto reportedly include anti-immigrant rhetoric going into depth on why he is “against race mixing,” supports the idea to “send them back” and offering a prediction of “genocide.” According to two officials, the manifesto includes remarks attacking immigrants and is sympathetic to a man charged with killing 51 people earlier this year at Christ Church in New Zealand.
Within hours after the El Paso shooting, in the early Sunday morning hours of August 4, 2019, a shooter in body armor wearing a mask and carrying extra magazines opened fire early Sunday in a popular nightlife area of Dayton, Ohio, killing 9 and injuring dozens before being slain by police. Police patrolling the area responded in less than a minute to the shooting, which unfolded Sunday morning around 1 a.m. on the streets of downtown Dayton’s Oregon District. The suspect was identified as 24-year-old Connor Betts, of Bellbrook, Ohio. Betts did not have a record with police. Betts used an assault-style rifle, a .223 caliber weapon with high capacity magazines and wore body armor during the shooting. Law enforcement officials confirmed the suspect’s sister, Megan Betts, 22, was among the nine victims. Multiple law enforcement officials told CBS News there is not a hate crime nexus yet in the Dayton shooting.
The El Paso killing is the 2nd mass shootings in two weeks reportedly attributed to white supremacists. Santino William Legan killed three including a 6-year-old attending the Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California, and wounding 12 others. That shooting and the shooting in El Paso were the latest in a growing string of attempted and carried-out mass shootings attributed to overt pro-white racism that has soared since Trump was elected.
https://newsone.com/3883517/el-paso-shooter-patrick-crusius/
Sunday’s shooting in Dayton is the 22nd mass killing of 2019 in the U.S., according to the AP/USA Today/Northeastern University mass murder database that tracks homicides where four or more people were killed — not including the offender. The 20 mass killings in the U.S. in 2019 that preceded this weekend claimed 96 lives. For a time line of the most recent mass shootings in the United States see:
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-08-03/united-states-mass-shootings
TRUMP’S RESPONSE TO EL PASO AND DETROIT SHOOTINGS
President Donald Trump denounced the shooting in El Paso by saying:
“Today’s shooting in ElPaso, Texas, was not only tragic, it was an act of cowardice. I know that I stand with everyone in this Country to condemn today’s hateful act. There are no reasons or excuses that will ever justify killing innocent people. ”
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/03/politics/trump-texas-mass-shooting/index.html
On Monday, August 5, 2019, Trump condemned the weekend shootings in Texas and Ohio as “barbaric” attacks and crimes “against all humanity” as he called for bipartisan cooperation to strengthen the nation’s gun laws. Trump said:
“In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy. … These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America”
President Trump has in the past downplayed the threat of the rise of white supremist terrorism. In August 2017, after a 20-year-old white man drove his car into a crowd at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one anti-racist protester and injuring 19 others, President Trump said that there was “blame on both sides” regarding the deadly violence that was instigated by white supremacists. Earlier this year, Trump said that he did not believe white nationalism was on the rise following two deadly attacks on mosques in New Zealand.
Trump said he has directed the FBI to examine steps to identify and address domestic terrorism and said he wants legislation providing “strong background checks” for gun users, but he provided no details. Trump has reneged on previous promises after mass shootings, especially after the Las Vegas mass shooting.
Trump pointed to a mental illness problem in the United States, calling the shooters “really very seriously mentally ill” and said the problem has been going on “for years and years [and] we have to get it stopped.”
https://www.abqjournal.com/1349664/trump-says-he-wants-stronger-gun-checks-but-reneged-in-past.html
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES REACT TO SHOOTINGS
After the El Paso mass shooting, a number of Presidential candidates weighed in on the cause of the shootings linking them to Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric.
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said:
“There is complicity in the president’s hatred that undermines the goodness and the decency of Americans regardless of what party. … To say nothing in a time of rising hatred, it’s not enough to say that ‘I’m not a hate monger myself.’ If you are not actively working against hate, calling it out, you are complicit in what is going on.”
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg said:
“[Trump] helped stoke many of these feelings in this country to begin with. … At best, he’s condoning and encouraging white nationalism. ”
Senator Kamala Harris of California blamed Trump’s use of language:
“We have a president of the United States who has chosen to use his words in a way that have been about selling hate and division among us.”
Senator Bernie Sanders opened a town hall meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada with a moment of silence and by calling for universal background checks for firearms purchases and more restrictions on assault weapons and said:
“Assault weapons are designed for one reason. They are military weapons. And I don’t have to explain that to the people in Las Vegas who experienced the worst gun tragedy in the history of this country”
https://www.abqjournal.com/1349131/2020-dems-back-gun-limits-after-el-paso-mass-shooting.html
NOT THE FIRST TIME TRUMP’S SUPPORTERS ACT OUT
The El Paso mass murder is not the first time that one of Trump’s supporters has acted out and has sought to do harm against those who disagree with Trump.
It was less than 10 months ago that the New York Times reported that on October 26, 2018 Federal authorities made an arrest in connection with the nationwide bombing campaign against outspoken Democratic critics of President Trump. At least 14 pipe bombs were sent to Democratic outspoken critics of President Trump and people who he has vilified at his political rallies and people he vilified on TWITTER.
Pipe bombs were sent to the home addresses of:
Former President Barack Obama
Former Vice President Joe Biden
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Former United States Attorney General Eric Holder
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John O. Brennan
California Congresswoman Maxine Waters
Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Billionaire philanthropist George Soros
Actor Robert Di Nero
A pipe bomb was also delivered to the offices of CNN in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
On Friday, October 26, 2018 Federal authorities made an arrest in connection with the nationwide bombing campaign against outspoken Democratic critics of President Trump. The suspect was identified as Cesar Sayoc Jr., 56, of Aventura, Florida. Sayoc is a registered Republican, he has a lengthy criminal history in Florida dating back to 1991. Sayoc’s criminal record includes felony theft, drug and fraud charges, as well as being arrested and accused of threatening to use a bomb.
During his arrest, Sayvoc’s white van was also seized as evidence. The van’s windows were plastered with a thick collage of pro-Trump stickers. Photos of the van showed that one of the stickers depicted President Trump standing in front of flames and the American flag. Another was of Hillary Clinton’s face in the crosshairs of a rifle scope. A third said: “CNN SUCKS.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/nyregion/cnn-cory-booker-pipe-bombs-sent.html
On Thursday, October 25, 2018, the very a day after CNN and Democrats were the targets of the pipe bombs, Trump in a TWEET blamed the media for much of the “anger” in society by saying:
“A very big part of the anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News. It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!”
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/25/politics/trump-blames-media-for-anger-after-attacks/index.html
Another example of Trump supporter acting out occurred after Trump went after Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn) in particularly viciousness manner during his July 17, 2019 North Carolina “Make America Great Campaign Re Election Rally by saying:
“[She] smeared U.S. service members in ‘Black Hawk Down.’ She slandered the brave Americans trying to keep peace in Somalia.” As Trump continued to criticize Representative Ilhan Omarof, the crowd began to shout, “Send Her Back” an obvious rewrite of the “Lock Her Up” slogan Trump used against Hillary Clinton.
On July 19, 2109 a New York man was taken into custody after having been arrested and charged with threatening to assault and murder Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York, Patrick W. Carlineo, Jr., 55, of Addison, New York, threatened to kill Omar because of her Muslim faith, according to a criminal complaint and accompanying affidavit. A call was placed to Omar’s Washington, DC, office on March 21, an FBI agent stated in the affidavit. During the call, an individual, who identified himself as Pat Carlineo, said to a staff member: “Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood? Why are you working for her, she’s a (expletive) terrorist? I’ll put a bullet in her (expletive) skull.”
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/06/politics/ilhan-omar-new-york-threat/index.html
RISE OF WHITE SUPREMACIST DOMESTIC TERRORISM VIOLENCE
FBI Director Christopher Wray has previously said that white supremacy poses a significant and “pervasive” threat to the United States. On July 23, 2019, FBI Director Christopher Wray testifying before the US Senate Judiciary Committee that the FBI has made about 100 domestic terrorism-related arrests since October, 2018 and said the majority were tied to white supremacy. Wray told the congressional committee:
“I will say that a majority of the domestic terrorism cases that we’ve investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence, but it does include other things as well. ”
The FBI Director testified that the FBI is “aggressively” investigating domestic terrorism and hate crimes and said that the bureau is focused on investigating the violence, not the ideology motivating the attacks. Wray distinguished between “homegrown violent extremism” defined as people in United States who are inspired by global jihadists, and “domestic extremism,” which is broader and includes include racially motivated extremists, anarchists and others.
The FBI Director testified that the number of domestic terrorism arrests are on par with the amount international terrorism cases and he said:
“In terms of number of arrests, we have through the third quarter of this fiscal year had about give or take 100 arrests on the international terrorism side, which includes the homegrown violent extremism … We’ve also had just about the same number — again, don’t quote me to the exact digit — on the domestic terrorism side. …
“We take domestic terrorism or hate crime — regardless of ideology — extremely seriously, I can assure you, and we are aggressively pursuing it using both counterterrorism resources and criminal investigative resources and partnering closely with our state and local partners.”
“Our focus is on the violence. … We the FBI don’t investigate the ideology, no matter how repugnant. We investigate violence. And any extremist ideology, when it turns to violence, we’re all over it.”
POLL SAYS MAJORITY FEEL TRUMP IS A RACIST, BUT NOT REPUBLICANS
On July 30, 2019, President Trump boldly proclaimed:
“I’m the least racist person there is anywhere in the world!”
A majority of the American people disagree with his assertion that his is not a racist. According to a new national Quinnipiac poll, conducted July 25 to 28 and released July 30, 2019 a majority of 51% of those polled believe President Donald Trump is racist compared to 45% who say he is not a racist, a six point spread.
The Quinnipiac poll is far more revealing when it identified a huge divide in 3 areas: 1. gender, 2. white people and people of color and 3. party affiliation on whether Trump is racist. The results of the poll are:
GENDER:
Men polled said 55% to 41% that Trump is NOT a racist.
Women polled said 59% to 36% Trump IS a racist.
WHITE VS PEOPLE OF COLOR
46% of white people said Trump is racist, while 50% said he is not a racist.
80% of black people said Trump is racist, while 11% said he is not a racist.
55% of Latino people said Trump is racist, while 44% said he is not a racist.
PARTY AFFILIATION
What is striking is the extreme split along partisan lines.
A whopping 91% of Republicans said Trump is not racist, while just 8% of Republicans polled said he is a racist.
Meanwhile, 86% of Democrats said Trump is racist and 9% polled said he’s not a racist.
You can review the Quinnipiac poll results here:
https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=3636
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
President Donald Trump is a racist pure, plain and simple. The Republicans in Congress refuse to admit it in the hopes of clinging to power. Republicans elected to congress have an extensive history of not condemning the President’s obviously racists tweets and actions.
There is no doubt that President Trump promotes hostility, mistrust and violence towards the press as well as his critics with his words and conduct at his rallies. Trump promoted violence, hostility and mistrust when he first ran for President and he is doing it again at his reelection political campaign rallies. What is disturbing is he has added one more dangerous ingredient to his speeches: overt racism.
Trump repeatedly uses harsh rhetoric targeting journalists and political opponents during campaign rallies creating and inflaming an extremely tense and divisive political environment of hostility, mistrust and violence. Trump refuses to take any responsibility for promoting hostility and mistrust, and at times violence, in this county and against his critics and American citizens.
RACISM CENTER PIECE OF TRUMP’S RE ELECTION BID; GOP NOW RPA
In the 2020 Presidential election racism and white supremacy is center piece of Donald Trump’s attempt to divide the country in order to get elected President a second term by the electoral college and not the popular vote. Trump is contributing to the racist divide in this country and is constantly stoking violence and hate against Americans and others of color. Trump relishes in stoking racial divide. This country is too good, has come way too far, with respect to civil rights, to elect a racist president again.
What is genuinely surprising is that after Trump’s racist remarks and his extensive history of racism, only 51% of voters polled believe he is a racist. A short history of Trump’s racist comments and action over the years can be found in the below blog article links. What is so damn disgusting is the party of Lincoln, the Grand Old Party (GOP) has become the RPA party (Racist Party of America) when 91% of Republicans polled say Trump is not racist.
Trump has an extensive history of promoting violence at his campaign rally’s. A history of Trump inciting violence and encouraging violence against those who disagree with him can also be found in the articles at the below links.
Each time a mass shooting has occurred in the United States during President’s Trump watch he has downplayed and rejected that his inflammatory racial rhetoric has had anything do with the shootings. Each time a mass shooting has occurred, Trump and the Republicans in congress refuse to take any meaning full steps to advocating responsible gun control legislation.
As each day passes, it is very doubtful that Trump can or will be removed by impeachment. Even if the US House of Representatives were to enact Articles of Impeachment, the United States Senate controlled by the Republicans will never vote to convict and remove him with the 61 necessary votes. President Trump needs to be removed from office by the voters in 2020. With all the mass shootings, there is a chance that voters in those states that flipped from Democrat to Republican and who voted for Trump in 2016 will recognize the mistake they made voting for a racist who incites violence against Americans who disagree with him.
With as much time left until the November 2020 election, Trump will be appealing to this country’s darker side of racism and white supremacy to get elected to a second 4-year term. Trump has already has already vilified Hispanics, Muslims, African Americans, immigrants seeking asylum and elected minority members of congress. It’s just a matter of time before Trump singles out yet another minority to vilify.
TRUMP’S DISGRACEFUL LEGACY
Trump’s legacy as President of the United State will be his is disgraceful public exhibition of racism and hate that he relishes to show off for all the world to see. Trump enjoys showing his racism to his most fervent defenders who no doubt have no problem with it and worshiping Der Feuer.
The Republican Party is now the party of Trump. An astonishing 91% of Republicans polled say Trump is not racist. No Republican is challenging him for the Republican nomination. The Grand Old Party (GOP) has now become the RPA: The Racist Party of America (RPA).
Trump’s Racism And Violence He Promotes Is Disease Country Suffering From Needing Intervention