White House aims to shift focus to Democrats amid scrutiny over Trump and racism

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

White House aims to shift focus to Democrats amid scrutiny over Trump and racism

Aides reject claims that El Paso suspect was influenced by Trump and point to reports that Dayton gunman shared leftwing posts

Sabrina Siddiqui in Washington
@SabrinaSiddiqui
Wed 7 Aug 2019 01.18 BST First published on Tue 6 Aug 2019 21.30 BST

The White House has attempted to shift focus on to Democrats and the media in an apparent bid to deflect scrutiny over the role Donald Trump’s rhetoric might have played in the mass shooting targeting El Paso’s predominantly Hispanic community.

In interviews with Fox News on Tuesday, the president’s aides repeatedly rejected assertions that the suspect in El Paso, who allegedly authored a hate-filled manifesto echoing Trump’s incendiary language on immigration, may have been influenced or emboldened by the president.

They instead sought to elevate reports that the gunman in Dayton, Ohio, allegedly shared leftwing posts on social media and supported the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren.

Law enforcement officials said Tuesday that the Dayton shooting did not appear to be linked to a “bias motive”. Authorities are meanwhile investigating the shooting in El Paso – which left 22 dead, including seven Mexican nationals – as an act of domestic terrorism.

The White House counselor Kellyanne Conway nonetheless lashed out at Democrats and the media for not dedicating more coverage to the Dayton suspect’s political views.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/06/trump-el-paso-shooter-influence-white-house-rejects-claims-focus-democrats

[ProudMNDemocrat]

1. Anything to deflect the contraversy away from Trump's rhetoric....

Sweep it under the rug because the White House knows that any connection to Trump is damaging to his re-election.

Earlier this morning on MSNBC, there was a discussion of the rising Latino/Hispanic voting bloc in this country. Rest assured that they will not be voting for Trump in 2020.

[DeminPennswoods]

2. Betts also evidently had a fascination with mass murder

As hard as it may be to believe, sometimes the "ideology" is just mass killing.

But, no matter how much the WH/GOP try to spin and deflect, they know the white supremacist/racist label is firmly attached to Trump (and them) now. They aren't getting away from that.

[RAB910]

3. Republican lies are killing Americans by the thousands

Their lies that led to the Iraq war

Their lies that lead to increased pollution

Their lies that their racist rhetoric doesn't cause terrorism

Their lies that guns don't need to be regulated

[Merlot]

4. Hopefully the media will note that the Dayton killer did not leave a manifesto

That his crimes were not motivated by anything on the left. But the media will probably play into the idea of dueling massacres.