President also attacked Joe Biden on Twitter for saying Trump ‘fanned the flames of white supremacy’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Donald Trump arrived on Air Force One in El Paso, Texas, to be greeted by protesters three days after two mass shootings rocked the US and sparked a firestorm over the president’s role in inflaming racist sentiments.

Trump’s visit to sites of back-to-back massacres, which left at least 31 dead and more than 50 injured at the weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, ignited controversy amid allegations that his anti-immigrant rhetoric potentially influenced the gunman in El Paso who opened fire on a predominantly Hispanic community. Some local officials had even urged Trump to stay away.

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Trump nonetheless barreled forward with plans to visit both Dayton and El Paso. He also launched a Twitter attack on the Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden, who criticized him in a speech. Trump lashed out at Biden, saying a speech where the former vice-president slammed Trump for fanning “the flames of white supremacy”, was “sooo boring”.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump dismissed claims that his words and actions were contributing to violence.

“No, I don’t think my rhetoric has at all. I think my rhetoric brings people together,” Trump said, while dismissing the criticism as an attempt by his opponents to score “political points”.

Pressed on the impact of his incendiary language on immigration, Trump sought to deflect focus to social media posts allegedly shared by the suspect in Dayton in support of Democrats.

“In Dayton, it just came out, he was a fan of ‘antifa’, he was a fan of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren – nothing to do with Trump, but nobody ever mentions that,” he said.

Authorities are still searching for any specific motive in Dayton, but they have ruled out a hate crime against any group of people and said there is “no indication” the gunman’s political views bore any relation to the mass murder.

The El Paso shooting, meanwhile, is being investigated as a case of domestic terrorism after officials discovered a manifesto – believed to be written by the suspect – describing the attack as a response to “the Hispanic invasion of Texas”. Trump, who has not directly addressed the El Paso suspect’s manifesto, has stoked fears around an “invasion”, using that exact word repeatedly, of migrants at the southern border.

Trump did not have any public events scheduled during his travel to the grief-stricken cities. White House aides said he would meet privately with victims and their families, as well as first responders and hospital staff.

Before Trump’s arrival, protesters assembled in downtown Dayton brandishing signs that read “Dump Trump” and “Protect kids – not guns”. Several shops and restaurants along the busy street where the gunman opened fire, killing nine in just 32 seconds at a packed bar in the early hours of Sunday, greeted Trump with messages pushing for action. “Our grief is not a commodity. Do something,” read one banner.

In an address to the American public via TV from the White House on Monday, Trump did not call for any new gun laws. He instead laid the blame for the massacres on violent video games and movies, online radicalization and mental illness.

Opponents have pointed out that other countries have similar rates of all those factors, but only the US with its lax gun laws has mass shootings with astonishing frequency.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday he was “looking to do background checks” on firearm purchases, although he did not specify if he wished to expand them. Democrats in Congress and a handful of Republicans have called for universal background checks – a proposal backed by an overwhelmingly majority of the American public.

“I think background checks are important. I don’t want to put guns into the hands of mentally unstable people or people with rage or a sick people,” Trump said.

Asked if he would back a ban on military-style assault weapons, Trump said there was “no political appetite for that at this moment”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The El Paso mayor, Dee Margo, right, lights candles after the shooting, with Greg Abbot, the Texas governor. Photograph: Joel Angel Juarez/AFP/Getty Images

In a direct counter to Trump’s visit to the border city, the Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke addressed an #ElPasoStrong event at a park on Wednesday afternoon.

O’Rourke, an El Paso native and former congressman, had discouraged Trump from visiting, flatly stating that Trump “has no place here”.

“He’s helped to create what we saw in El Paso on Saturday,” O’Rourke said. “He’s helped to produce the suffering that we are experiencing right now. This community needs to heal.”

The congresswoman Veronica Escobar, who succeeded O’Rourke in representing the El Paso area in Congress, also said Trump was not welcome in El Paso.

The city’s Republican mayor, Dee Margo, said he would welcome Trump in an official capacity but warned the president against making further inflammatory statements about the city.

Democratic 2020 contenders meanwhile amplified their warnings about the rise of white nationalism.

The former vice-president Joe Biden drew a direct link between Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and the alleged views of the El Paso shooter during a Wednesday rally in Iowa.

“In both clear language and in code, this president has fanned the flames of white supremacy in this nation,” Biden said.

“We have a president who has aligned himself with the darkest forces in this nation. And that makes winning the battle for the soul of this nation that much harder.”