Beto O’Rourke has accused Donald Trump of stoking fear, inciting racism and inviting terrorism as the president prepares to visit El Paso, Texas, in the wake of Saturday’s deadly mass shooting.

In the days since the massacre at a Walmart shop that killed 22 people and injured dozens more, the Democratic 2020 hopeful has suspended his presidential campaign and returned to El Paso, where he has attended vigils and met the injured. He has also linked Mr Trump’s racist rhetoric to the violence his home town has suffered.

After attending a vigil for 15-year-old Javier Rodriguez, a pupil at Horizon High School 20 miles outside of El Paso, where he briefly spoke, Mr O’Rourke said it was time for people to hold the president to account for what he said were the consequences of his words.

“There are people in positions of extraordinary power who are inviting this kind of intolerance and violence,” he told The Independent, as he walked from the sports field where the event was held.

Asked if he believed the measures Mr Trump had announced in the Oval Office following the attacks in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio – possibly more background checks and efforts to monitor violent video games – would be effective, Mr O’Rourke said the president had already said enough for people to know “why this happened and why it will keep happening”.

El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Show all 39 1 /39 El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store CCTV images of the gunman identified as Patrick Crusius The 21 year old, as he entered the Cielo Vista Walmart store in El Paso. The gunman was armed with an assault rifle and opened fire on shoppers at a packed Walmart store, killing 20. KTSM 9/AFP/Getty El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Law enforcement agencies respond The Texas city’s police chief said the assault on a Walmart store on Saturday, which left another 26 people wounded, was being investigated as a potential hate crime. AFP/Getty El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Shoppers exit with their hands up Shoppers exit with their hands up after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, U.S. August 3, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Salgado NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. STRINGER Reuters El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store FBI released a picture of gunman Patrick Crusius The police officially identified the 21-year-old white male from Allen, Texas, a Dallas suburb some 650 miles east of El Paso. FBI/AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store A woman reacts after the mass shooting The attack came just minutes after a far-right manifesto appeared online. If authentic, it would make it the third mass shooting this year announced in advance on the website, which often features far-right and racist content. Reuters El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Law enforcement responds to the active shooter The racist four-page document, titled “The Inconvenient Truth”, calls the Walmart attack “a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas” and expresses support for the gunman who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand earlier this year. AFP/Getty El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store A shopper hiding with an old lady behind the return and exchanges counter as the shooting began. Aaron Castaneda/Reuters El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Ambulances in the car park near the scene It is ranked as the eighth-deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, after a 1984 shooting in San Ysidro, California, that claimed 21 lives. AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Kendall Long (left) comforts Kianna Long (right) who was in the freezer section of Walmart. EPA El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store epa07755367 Police stand at attention after a shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, USA, 03 August 2019. According to reports, at least one person was killed and at least 18 people injured and transported to local hospitals. One suspect is in custody. EPA/IVAN PIERRE AGUIRRE IVAN PIERRE AGUIRRE EPA El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Shoppers exit with their hands up. Reuters El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Shopping carts sit next to a curb after the shooting. EPA El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store El Paso Fire Medical personnel arrive at the scene. AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Walmart employees react after. AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store A woman runs to police near the scene. AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Several law enforcement agencies respond. AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store People arrive at MacArthur Elementary looking for family and friends as the school is being used a re-unification centre. AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Residents Erica Rios, 36, and Alma Rios, 61, cry outside a reunification centre. AFP/Getty El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store People gather in Juarez, Mexico, in a vigil for the Mexican nationals who were killed. AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store A child takes part in a vigil in Ciudad Juarez AFP/Getty El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Francisco Castaneda joins mourners taking part in a vigil at El Paso High School. Reuters El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Presidential candidate and former congressman Beto O'Rourke, right, meets with mass shooting survivor, Rosemary, at University Medical Centre Beto O'Rourke Facebook via AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store From left, Melody Stout, Hannah Payan, Aaliyah Alba, Sherie Gramlich and Laura Barrios comfort each other during a vigil for victims of the shooting. AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store A sign is posted near the scene Getty Images El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Police cars parked below the Walmart sign block a road outside while investigating. EPA El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Sherie Gramlich reacts during a vigil. AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store A man places flowers at the site Reuters El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store People take part in a rally against hate a day after a mass shooting at the Walmart store Reuters El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Lupe Lopez holds a picture of a victim during a vigil for victims AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store People take part in a rally against hate a day after a mass shooting at a Walmart store, in El Paso, Texas, U.S. August 4, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ REUTERS El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Elsa Mendoza Marquez, a Mexican schoolteacher who was married and the mother of two adult children, was one of the victims Getty El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store People with the Mexican flag and the US flag take part in a rally against hate a day Reuters El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store People raise their arms in the air during a vigil for victims AP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store People react and embrace each other Getty El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Women light candles at a make shift memorial at the site of a mass shooting EPA El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Adria Gonzalez (centre) who is being hailed as a hero for leading some Walmart customers to safety, speaks to the crowd AFP/Getty El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store People hold up their phones AFP/Getty Images El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store Beto O'Rourke speaks to the crowd AFP El Paso mass shooting: 20 killed at Walmart store People react during a prayer and candle vigil organized by the city, after a shooting left 20 people dead at the Cielo Vista Mall WalMart in El Paso, Texas, on August 4, 2019. - A shooting at a Walmart store in Texas left multiple people dead. At least one suspect was taken into custody after the shooting in the border city of El Paso, triggering fear and panic among weekend shoppers as well as widespread condemnation. It was the second fatal shooting in less than a week at a Walmart store in the US and comes after a mass shooting in California last weekend. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP)MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images MARK RALSTON AFP/Getty

“When he calls immigrants rapists and criminals, when he describes those who come to this country as an infestation and invasion ... when he stokes this kind of fear, incites this kind of racism, invites the kind of terrorism that we saw, then we have to call him out for what he’s done, call this out for what it is,” he said. “And ask everyone to stand up and be counted at this moment of truth.”

The 46-year-old has appeared both emotional and angry in many of his public appearances since Saturday, saying that border communities of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, are unique within the western hemisphere.

Hundreds of people turned out to celebrate the teenager’s life (Andrew Buncombe ) (Andrew Buncombe)

He has said the community here is friendly, and that El Paso is one of the safest cities in the US. He has also been among those who have highlighted that the suspected gunman, Patrick Crusius, is alleged to have driven 650 miles from the city of Allen to carry out the attack in El Paso, which has a large Hispanic population.

Mr Crusius is being held on capital murder charges, though federal prosecutors are also considering charging him with hate crimes.

“He claimed the life, not just of Javier who was about to become a sophomore here at Horizon, but also a 90-year-old gentleman who had just celebrated 70 years of marriage with his wife who were walking into Walmart as they did regularly,” Mr O’Rourke said.

El Paso students pay tribute to 15-year-old shooting victim Javier Rodriguez

When it was pointed out that America had suffered from mass shootings long before Mr Trump took office – the attack on Mother Emanuel, an historic back church in Charleston, South Carolina, was carried out in 2015 – Mr O’Rourke said not all incidents were the same.

“I would not compare this to the all the other acts of violence you see in this country. You had someone who published a manifesto, who talked about an invasion, which is a word Trump uses, has fears of being replaced,” he said.

He added: “Donald Trump is not the first to traffic in racist tropes, but as the commander-in-chief, as the leader of this country, he has made things so much worse.

“He has given a licence for people to harm others. We have seen a rise in hate crimes for each of the three years of his administration. So we need to call this out for what it is.”

The president is due to visit Dayton and El Paso on Wednesday. Mr O’Rourke is among those in El Paso who have urged him to stay away. Congresswoman Veronica Escobar has said she will attend a protest, rather than meet the president.

In a late-night tweet, Mr Trump said Mr O’Rourke should “be quiet”.