Bernie Sanders primary contender of 2020 Democratic president is of the opinion that President Trump never ever wants to see anybody being shot dead. But at the same time his speech does encourage masses to get violent. The best example would be latest event of last weekend where there was a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas.
A 21-year-old Patrick Crusius killed 22 people and wounded dozens of others at the Walmart store. According to Crusius he was targeting Mexicans and in an online screed he reportedly wrote about a “Hispanic invasion of Texas”. Trump’s rhetoric and hardline stance towards illegal immigration could be the reason for this shoot.
During an interview on CBS Sanders did mention that “I think Trump has created an environment in this country where we get to see significant increase in hate crimes. His incredible rhetoric and his racist expression of calling Mexicans rapists and criminals during a rally can be related to it. He actually builds a climate which is creating some kind of divisiveness in this nation. This is the last thing that any one should be doing.
However in relation to the shooting at Walmart, Crusius had noted in his manifesto that he held these racist views long before Trump launched his 2016 election campaign. Where the major focus was to curb illegal immigration and build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise during a conversation on “Face the Nation” said that assigning the blame for the mass shootings on anyone besides the perpetrator was “a very slippery slope.” Scalise further added that “Bernie Sanders can be blamed for my shooting as the next guest because the president is no more responsible for that shooting.”
Scalise was severely injured in June 2017 when a gunman opened fire on a group of Republican lawmakers at a baseball practice in Alexandria. The gunman was a left-wing activist who had volunteered for Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign.
That same morning Sanders’ condemned the shooter’s “dreadful act” on the Senate floor.