Donald Trump is visiting El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday to pay his respects following mass shootings in both communities over the weekend that left 31 dead. As the president serves his role of consoler-in-chief, he is expected to be met with a hostile reception.
Mr Trump attacked 2020 contender Beto O’Rourke late on Tuesday night, telling him to “be quiet” after the candidate said his racist rhetoric was responsible for the massacre at a Wal-Mart in his hometown of El Paso. Mr O’Rourke responded: “22 people in my hometown are dead after an act of terror inspired by your racism. El Paso will not be quiet and neither will I.”
Meanwhile in Ohio, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley also criticised Mr Trump saying “he’s made this bed and he’s gotta lie in it” while the state’s Republican governor Mike DeWine called for expanded gun laws to stop further outbreaks of violence. Protests are widely expected in both cities.
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The president is currently headed to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio where he will meet with victims and their family members, along with first responders and medical staff who treated shooting victims in the wake of the deadly mass shooting that gripped the community on Sunday.
Donald Trump has attacked The New York Times over its decision to alter the headline of a story about his response to the El Paso and Dayton shootings.
On Tuesday, the newspaper was forced to change its front-page headline over its portrayal of Mr Trump’s speech following the attacks in Texas and Ohio which left 31 people dead.
The first headline read, “TRUMP URGES UNITY VS RACISM”, but was changed to, “ASSAILING HATE BUT NOT GUNS” following outrage as the portrayal of the US president as a unifier.
“’Trump Urges Unity Vs. Racism,’ was the correct description in the first headline by the Failing New York Times, but it was quickly changed to, ‘Assailing Hate But Not Guns,’ after the Radical Left Democrats went absolutely CRAZY! Fake News,” Mr Trump tweeted early on Wednesday morning.
Beto O’Rourke has accused Donald Trump of stoking fear, inciting racism and inviting terrorism as the president prepares to visit El Paso, Texas, in the wake of Saturday’s deadly mass shooting.
In the days since the massacre at a Walmart shop that killed 22 people and injured dozens more, the Democratic 2020 hopeful has suspended his presidential campaign and returned to El Paso, where he has attended vigils and met the injured. He has also linked Mr Trump’s racist rhetoric to the violence his home town has suffered.
After attending a vigil for 15-year-old Javier Rodriguez, a pupil at Horizon High School 20 miles outside of El Paso, where he briefly spoke, Mr O’Rourke said it was time for people to hold the president to account for what he said were the consequences of his words.
When asked about criticism over his rhetoric — 2020 Democratic candidates and others have connected Donald Trump’s controversial statements about Mexicans and immigrants to the Texas gunman’s reported anti-immigrant sentiments — the president said his rhetoric is not divisive but rather “brings people together.”
“I am concerned about the rise of any group of hate,” He also said, “whether it’s white supremacy, or any other kind of supremacy.”
Mr Trump then added he was also concerned about Antifa, the anti-fasicst movement. He appeared to be conflating the left-wing group with violence caused by apparent white nationalists, despite FBI Director Chris Wray saying in a Senate hearing last month that a rise in domestic terrorism was directly linked to a rise in deadly white supremacist violence.
Stocks are falling sharply on Wall Street again as fearful investors dumped stocks and shoveled money into bonds.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 500 points in early trading Wednesday.
Bond prices continued to rise sharply, sending yields to their lowest level in nearly three years. The yield on the 10-year yield dropped to 1.62 per cent from 1.74 per cent late Tuesday, a large move.
Markets have been volatile this week after Washington and Beijing raised the stakes in their trade war. China allowed its currency to weaken after the US said it would raise more tariffs on Chinese goods.
AP
Donald Trump has said his rhetoric “brings people together” in the wake of mass shootings, as the president’s critics say his incendiary comments have contributed to a rise in deadly white supremacist violence.
The president spoke with reporters before departing from the White House for Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas on Wednesday, to serve in his role as consoler-in-chief in the wake of deadly mass shootings that struck both communities over the weekend.
Mr Trump said there was “no appetite” on Capitol Hill for gun control reform in the wake of the latest gun violence that has become all too common in America, but that he was “looking to do background checks” and focus on mental health initiatives.
Story to come...
The president is telling reporters there is no political appetite for a ban on assault rifles on Capitol Hill, and that his rhetoric has no impact on the country.
Donald Trump has told reporters he has a meeting scheduled with members of Congress to tackle gun control reform in the wake of deadly mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas. The president was speaking with reporters before departing the White House to visit both communities inflicted by a spate of gun violence gripping the country.
Mr Trump said he was looking to do background checks and stressed he does not want “sick” people to have access to weaponry.
We’ll bring video of his comments as it comes in.
The lawsuit alleges he was unfairly punished for expressing his political opinions and that the Justice Department violated his privacy when it shared hundreds of his text messages with reporters.
"The campaign to publicly vilify Special Agent Strzok contributed to the FBI’s ultimate decision to unlawfully terminate him," the lawsuit says, "as well as to frequent incidents of public and online harassment and threats of violence to Strzok and his family that began when the texts were first disclosed to the media and continue to this day."
