Donald Trump Had the Nerve to Tell Beto O’Rourke to “Be Quiet!” About the El Paso Shooting

After this weekend’s mass shooting in his hometown of El, Paso Texas, Beto O’Rourke took issue with the ways in which media coverage whitewashes Donald Trump’s role in these instances of domestic terrorism.

“What do you think?” O’Rourke asked a reporter in response to being asked if there was anything Trump could do to make this epidemic better. “You know the shit he’s been saying. He’s been calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. I don’t know, like, members of the press, what the fuck?”

“Hold on a second,” he continued, “You know, I–it’s these questions that you know the answers to. I mean, connect the dots about what he’s been doing in this country. He’s not tolerating racism, he’s promoting racism. He’s not tolerating violence, he’s inciting racism and violence in this country. So I don’t know what kind of question that is.”

Not every notable media outlet lets Trump off the hook so consistently, of course; but in general, Beto’s not wrong:

O’Rourke’s quote got a lot of attention, mostly from people in agreement but also a bit of pearl-clutching.

Donald Trump apparently also caught wind of the comments and lashed out on Twitter, criticizing O’Rourke’s childhood nickname and mocking his polling numbers. Beto, he says, “should respect the victims & law enforcement – & be quiet!”

Beto has been respecting the victims. In addition to spending time with survivors in the hospital and with the families of victims, he tweeted out the names and brief stories of everyone murdered on Saturday. He is clearly hurting and mourning while also offering the kind of support we want to see from our political figures.

He basically told Trump to shove it.

I really like this no-fucks-given Beto. We haven’t seen him in a while–the ultra-candid Beto whose speeches kept going viral simply because they were so passionate and genuine.

As for Trump, he visited with survivors in Dayton and El Paso today. Here’s the kind of stuff he was tweeting in between visits:

It’s no wonder why he doesn’t understand Beto’s anger and assumes the issue is all about ratings envy and polls. Those are the only things that matter to Trump.

(image: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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