President Donald Trump visited El Paso following a deadly shooting that left several people dead or wounded over the weekend.
On Wednesday, the President and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in El Paso to meet victims of the shooting at a Wal-Mart last Saturday that left over twenty people dead. The President landed at the El Paso airport and met with Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott, and El Paso Mayor Dee Margo, among others, CNN reports.
Prior to taking off, Trump told reporters that the trip would also allow him to meet with first responders in El Paso, who Trump says did a “terrific job” in their response to the shooting.
“The job they’ve done was incredible,” Trump said. “Really incredible.”
However, before landing in El Paso, Trump engaged in an online battle of words with El Paso native Beto O’Rourke, who is running for the Democratic nomination to face Trump in 2020. In a tweet, Trump told O’Rourke to “be quiet.”
“Beto (phony name to indicate Hispanic heritage) O’Rourke, who is embarrassed by my last visit to the Great State of Texas, where I trounced him, and is now even more embarrassed by polling at 1% in the Democrat Primary, should respect the victims & law enforcement - & be quiet,” Trump said on Twitter.
O’Rourke responded back a short time later, condemning Trump and vowing to not “be quiet.”
“22 people in my hometown are dead after an act of terror inspired by your racism,” O’Rourke said. “El Paso will not be quiet and neither will I.”
The exchange also attracted the attention of some of O’Rourke’s rivals, with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who is also running for president, expressing his support for O’Rourke and El Paso.
“[President Trump], you are a racist and a national embarrassment,” Inslee tweeted. “Be quiet. Beto O’Rourke, I stand with you and the people of El Paso. Stay loud.”
Following his visit to El Paso, Trump also visited Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday, after the city also experienced a deadly shooting over the weekend.
