[Blitzer:] Thirteen hours in America, two mass shootings, 29 people killed. In the wake of the tragedies in both El Paso and Dayton, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are slamming the president for rhetoric they say is inciting violence.
[Sen. Cory Booker , Presidential Candidate:] I want to say with more moral clarity that Donald Trump is responsible for this. He's responsible because he is stoking fears and hatred and bigotry. He is responsible because he's failing to condemn white supremacy and see it as it is, which is responsible for such a significant amount of the terrorist attacks.
[Julian Castro , Presidential Candidate:] There's a toxic brew right now in the United States and this is just one more example of that, of white nationalism. The manifesto that apparently this shooter wrote that says that Hispanics are taking over the state of Texas and changing the country. This echoes the kind of language that our president encourages, talking about invaders.
[Beto O'rourke , Presidential Candidate:] We've got to acknowledge the hatred, the open racism we're seeing. There's an environment of it in the United States. We see it on Fox News. We see it on the internet. But we also see it from our commander-in-chief. And he is encouraging this. He doesn't just tolerate it. He encourages it, calling Mexican immigrants, rapists, and criminals, warning of an invasion at our border, seeking to ban all people of one religion. Folks are responding to this. It doesn't just offend us. It encourages the violence we're seeing, including in my hometown of El Paso yesterday.
[Jake Tapper, Cnn:] Do you think President Trump is a white nationalist?
[O'rourke:] Yes. I do.
[Sen. Kamala Harris , Presidential Candidate:] We also have to acknowledge that we have a president of the United States who uses the microphone, which is probably one of the most powerful tools in the hand of the president of the United States, and uses that microphone in a way that is about sowing hate and division in our country. In a way that is about not acknowledging domestic terrorism when it occurs, and in a way that is highly irresponsible and not a reflection of the values and morals of who we are as the American people.
[Pete Buttigieg, , Presidential Candidate:] You don't have to use a lot of imagination to connect the dots here. It is very clear that this kind of hate is being legitimized from on high. And if that were not true, the president would be acting and speaking very, very differently than what he's doing right now.
[Sen. Bernie Sanders , Presidential Candidate:] When you have language that is racist, that is virulently anti-immigrant, there are mentally unstable people in this country who see that as a sign to do terrible, terrible things. So I think the president has got to stop that racism and that xenophobia immediately.
[Blitzer:] We're also getting reaction from Congressman Steve Scalise, the Republican congressman from Louisiana, the House Minority Whip. As you'll remember, Congressman Scalise was shot in June of 2017 during a congressional baseball practice in Virginia, right outside of Washington, D.C. He was shot and spent many months recovering from that shooting. Congressman Scalise tweeted a statement this saying this, "There is a sickness in our nation. Our religious and community institutions, the glue that bonds us are declining as a central force in society while the politicization of every aspect of life rises. These shooters turn to hatred and violence. As a result, dozens are dead. These events should be classified as domestic terrorism, and I'm glad that in the case of El Paso, the FBI is treating it as such. We must better equip our law enforcement agencies to prevent these massacres before they happen. There is clearly a culture of death in America today. Violence is glorified and normalized on our screens every day. Instead of seeking professional help for mental health problems, men are being radicalized in online forums. This must stop. In a media culture that encourages viewing people solely through hyper-partisan lenses and not as neighbors and fellow citizens, dangerous division and hatred of those you disagree with is the outcome. This can often lead to violent consequences as I've personally experienced. These events are tragedies. Reducing them to talking points and name calling in support of narrow political agendas only further divides our country. Jennifer and I pray for the people of El Paso and Dayton. May god help us and heal this great nation." That statement from Steve Scalise. We're going to have much more on all the breaking news on the shootings in El Paso and Dayton right after this.