Republican members of congress tweeted out “thoughts and prayers” on Sunday after the attacks in El Paso and Dayton over the weekend that left at least 30 dead, just like they have in the litany of previous mass shootings, knowing full well that America needs much more from their elected officials than that.

Others, including Donald Trump, have blamed the mass shootings on video games and mental illness.

Although the police haven’t officially confirmed the El Paso shooter’s motive, make no mistake: he drove nine hours from outside Dallas to El Paso with his assault-style weapon for the sole purpose of slaughtering Mexicans; one of the deadliest attacks on Mexican people in US history. Before he set out on his macabre journey, he mentioned a “Hispanic invasion” in his manifesto that is now circulating on the internet.

The link between the attacks and racism are so glaring that two days later even Trump has been forced to openly denounce his most trusted tool: white supremacy.

But these attacks were no coincidence. Trump has tweeted about Latino migrants invading the country before. At a rally in May, Trump laughed when – in response to his question to the audience “how do we get rid of them?” – someone in the audience yelled: “Shoot them!”

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

The shooter may have been a white supremacist since before Trump was president, but it is undeniable that his presidency has legitimised white nationalist violence.

The US has had a problem with mass public shootings since the 1990s, but the violence in El Paso is a function of Trump’s long history of anti-immigrant, racist rhetoric dating back to his “birther” days when Barack Obama was running for president. It is also a function of the GOP’s historic resistance to gun control and their unwavering support of a president who inspires and legitimises racism.

When asked about party opposition to gun regulation, the GOP talking point has long been that the Republican Party is against government meddling in American lives. But GOP legislators have been quick to push for laws that regulate women’s bodies and withdraw funds from organisations like Planned Parenthood, which help women gain autonomy. Clearly, Trump and the GOP are mocking Americans.

Trump’s presidency has been leading up to this; a moment when the racial hatred and pandemonium stoked by his rhetoric became both terrifyingly deadly and commonplace. Trump voters must take a hard look at the man they elected to the Oval Office, as should the GOP members of congress that support him and have done nothing to make America safe from gun violence or white supremacy.

We have a president who openly trolls minorities and calls Mexicans “rapists and murderers”; tells US congresswomen to “go back to where they came from”; tries to ban Muslims from entering the country and, when a white supremacist barrelled through a crowd of protestors killing a woman at a white nationalist rally in Virginia, famously said: “There were very fine people on both sides.” But there are no good, murderous racists. There are, however, enablers.

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Republican members of congress have rarely called out Trump for his racist comments and policies. The reason? At best, while they may not agree with his views, they’re worried about re-election and isolating voters who support Trump’s racist world vision. At worst, they don’t say anything because they are letting Trump do the dirty work for them. Either way, it’s unacceptable.

Republicans are worried about winning elections, not protecting their constituents. If they cared about American lives, they would have done something about gun control long before Trump came to office. Today’s self-professed Christian GOP legislators worship at the altar of the god of government contracts and lobbyists; Jesus Christ and his message to “love thy neighbour” have nothing to do with it. The GOP is no longer the party of Lincoln – it is now the party of hypocrites and hate-mongers who have anything but the best interests of average Americans at heart. It is time we voted them out.

Trump and his GOP acolytes are Big Brother, looking down upon us and laughing cynically as we are massacred in our cities, ridiculed in the international community for our handling of the gun violence crisis, and more and more divided with every waking day.