Donald Trump on Wednesday, ahead of his trip to Dayton, Ohio, complained the ‘fake news’ ignored ties the suspected mass shooter had to liberal presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
A Twitter account believed to be owned by Connor Betts, the 24-year-old suspected of killing nine people and injuring 27 in Dayton on Sunday, has tweeted supportive messages for Warren and Sanders, in addition to promoting content from ANTIFA, a left-wing, militant, anti-fascist group.
Trump touted those ties in a tweet ahead of his visit to the city to comfort victims, citing a report from One America News Network, a right-wing TV station.
‘“The Dayton, Ohio, shooter had a history of supporting political figures like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and ANTIFA.” @OANN I hope other news outlets will report this as opposed to Fake News. Thank you!,’ the president wrote.
Donald Trump, ahead of his trip to Dayton, Ohio, tried to link the mass shooter to liberal presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren
A Twitter account believed to be owned by Connor Betts – the suspect in Sunday’s shooting – had supportive messages for Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders but no motive has been established
No motive has been established behind the shooting in Dayton, unlike Friday’s incident in El Paso, Texas, where the suspect left behind a 2,300-word manifesto that raged about the ‘Hispanic invasion of Texas,’ posted online minutes before the shooting began on Saturday at a Wal-Mart in the Southern border city.
White House officials also pushed the ties between Betts and liberals as they defended the president from Democrats’ charges it was his rhetoric that inflamed racial tensions in the country.
‘We do not blame, nor do we even dream of blaming Elizabeth Warren for the shooter in Ohio who wanted to vote for her,’ White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said on Fox News Tuesday, questioning why Trump was being criticized.
‘I’m hopping mad this morning because I see very little scant coverage of the fact that the Dayton shooter has been confirmed as having a Twitter feed that was supportive of Antifa, that was supportive of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders,’ White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News Tuesday morning.
Warren’s campaign called the attempt to link Betts to her campaign a distraction.
‘There is absolutely no place for violence in our politics and Elizabeth and our campaign condemn it in the strongest possible terms,’ Warren campaign spokesperson Kristen Orthman said in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday.
‘Leaders have a responsibility to speak out and to not incite violence. But let’s be clear – there is a direct line between the president’s rhetoric and the stated motivations of the El Paso shooter. This is an attempt to distract from the fact that Trump’s rhetoric is inciting violence as extremist-related murders have spiked 35 percent from 2017 to 2018,’ she added.
Betts, who was shot and killed by police, was armed with a .223-caliber ‘long gun,’ high-capacity magazines, and extra ammunition in Sunday’s mass shooting.
The attack lasted less than a minute outside a bar in a popular neighborhood in the city.
Authorities have named no motive behind suspect Connor Betts
White House officials Hogan Gidley and Kellyanne Conway on Tuesday also tied Betts to liberals
Former classmates of Betts said he kept a ‘hit list’ of people he wanted to kill or rape.
Authorities are investigating a motive.
Trump, meanwhile, has come under attack from Democrats, who say his anti-immigrant language on the stump has sparked a rise in white supremacy.
‘In both clear language and in code, this president has fanned the flames of white supremacy in this nation,’ Joe Biden will say at a campaign event in Iowa later Wednesday, according to excerpts released from his campaign.
Beto O’Rourke, who represented El Paso in Congress, said America under Trump was like Nazi Germany.
‘The only modern western Democracy that I can think of that said anything close to this is the Third Reich, Nazi Germany,’ he said Monday on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe.’
Joe Biden will accuse the president of fanning ‘the flames of white supremacy in this nation’ in a speech in Iowa on Wednesday
And Nan Whaley, the Democratic mayor of Dayton, Ohio, said she will tell the president directly that he has been unhelpful in responding to the two mass shootings.
‘He probably will hear it from you all, better than he hears it from me,’ she said. ‘I mean, yesterday, his comments weren’t very helpful to the issue around guns.’
Trump on Monday blamed the internet, social media, computer games and ‘mental illness’ for the two mass shootings that killed 31 people this past weekend.
‘Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun,’ he said.