Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, tore into President Donald Trump early Monday in the wake of shootings in El Paso, comparing his presidency to Nazi Germany's Third Reich and accusing him of being a racist back to the time when he was demanding proof of whether ex-President Barack Obama was born in the United States.
"The writing has been on the wall since his maiden speech coming down that escalator, describing Mexican immigrants and rapists and criminals," O'Rourke, a Democratic presidential primary candidate told MSNBC's "Morning Joe," referring to the president's 2016 campaign launch. "The actions that follow cannot surprise us."
He added, in remarks about Muslims and Hispanics, Trump has said "all people of one religion" are "inherently defective and should be banned from the shores of this country. "
"The only modern western Democracy that I can think of that said anything close to this is the Third Reich, Nazi Germany," O'Rourke said. "Talking about human beings as though they are animals, making them sub-human to make it OK to put their kids in cages."
O'Rourke, whose congressional district had included El Paso, praised the community as one of the safest cities in the United States and lauded its immigrant population for making that happen.
"It's not despite, but because we come from the planet over to call this community home," O'Rourke said. "Their presence makes us stronger and safer . . . I'm going to do everything I can to make sure America remembers that."
He also ridiculed anyone who is still surprised by Trump, including members of the media who ask him if he thinks the president is a racist.
"Well, Jesus Christ, of course, he's a racist," O'Rourke told the morning program. "He's been racist since day one, before day one."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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