O’Rourke: El Paso Shooter Was ‘Inspired to Kill by Our President’

“On August 3rd, in El Paso, Texas, two things became crystal clear for me and I think produced a turning point for this country.

“The first is just how dangerous Donald Trump is - the cost and the consequence of his presidency. A racism and violence that had long been a part of America was welcomed out into the open and directed to my hometown of El Paso, Texas, where 22 people were killed, dozens more grievously injured by a man carrying a weapon who should never have been able to buy in the first place - inspired to kill by our president.

“The second is how insufficient our politics is to meet the threat that we have right now. The bitterness, the pettiness, the smallness of the moment, the incentives to attack one another and try to make differences without distinctions, mountains out of mole hills. We have to be bigger. We have to see clearly, we have to speak honestly and we have to act decisively. That's what I want to do for you as president of the United States. Thank you.”