As you sow, so shall you reap. The manifesto posted online in advance of the El Paso Walmart slaughter leaves little doubt that the killer, who lifted language from Trump tweets, was energized by the climate of white supremacist and anti-immigrant hatred stoked by the rantings of the Hater-in-Chief. As were so many other haters.
Trump was way off his game in his effort to say something comforting or remotely plausible about the latest shootings. In his initial a pair of tweets, he tried to connect the shootings to “desperately needed immigration reform,” and once again sought to scapegoat the media, contending that coverage has “contributed greatly to the anger and rage.” And in his scripted speech to the nation this morning, he kept invoking God, calling for “great” legislation, and declaring that we must assure that the murdered “shall not have died in vain.”
While there are plenty of haters out there, they are far from a majority of the electorate. Trump's responsibility for the wave of mayhem and his response to mass murder offends many Americans otherwise tempted to vote for him.
There is far too much defeatism on the Democratic side about the likelihood of Trump's re-election. Most Americans are disgusted by the wave of grotesque hatred that Trump has engendered. The economy is beginning to turn against Trump as well.
This week also saw the beginning of a Republican backlash against climate change denial as well as more House Republicans deciding to call it quits.
From Charlottesville to Parkland to Pittsburgh to El Paso to Dayton, there are too many innocent souls who did not volunteer to be martyrs to Trump. There is only one way for them not to have died in vain. It is to rid this nation of the pestilence that is Donald Trump.