Face it, Trump is just plain mean

What a heartbreaking week. A gunman drove 10 hours to reach El Paso, Texas, with the stated purpose of killing Latinos.

We know this because minutes before he killed 22 people he posted his intention on an internet hate site. His rant contained several references to his belief that Hispanics were “invading” Texas.

Wonder where this killer (I will not use his name) got the idea that there is an invasion? He may have gotten it from Donald Trump.

Rant after rant after rant at Trump’s Nuernberg-style rallies and in his tweets, he repeatedly has accused Latino immigrants of mounting an invasion. It should be noted that El Paso is about 85 percent Latino, and is one of the most crime-free cities in the United States.

Trump’s use of words is stunning. Baltimore is “infested’ with rats. Mexicans are “breeders.” Chain migration is a gimmick to bring foreigners to our country — never mind that his wife’s parents arrived here from Europe through chain migration. And, oh, yes, Mexicans are murderers and rapists.

Sooner or later, the El Paso shooter was going to pick up on the language

Only a few hours after the El Paso massacre, another shooter hit

Dayton, Ohio, but unlike the El Paso shooter, the

Dayton shooter died in the ensuing gun fight. The El

Paso shooter, according to the law enforcement authorities interviewing him, has expressed absolutely no remorse.

The state has indicated that the death penalty will be argued for, and while

I have qualms about it on moral and humanitarian grounds, I will certainly not light a candle in his behalf. We would all probably feel the same way about the Dayton shooter, had he lived.

The story gets even more offensive. Against the wishes of a sizable number of people in Dayton and El Paso, Trump elected to travel to both cities. It could have been a time to sooth wounds and lift spirits.

Instead, Trump was tweeting hateful messages from Air Force One. He trashed the mayor of Dayton, and let it be known that the Castro brothers were “nothing.”

He lashed out at Beto O’rourke for something he said.

Franklin D. Roosevelt gave uplifting speeches during the Great Depression (fire-side chats). John F. Kennedy appealed to America’s soul, to use Joe Biden’s word.

So did Bush 41 at the end of the Gulf War, breaking into tears, as he saw footage of American soldiers comforting Iraqi prisoners.

Bill Clinton went to Oklahoma City and soothed souls in the aftermath of the bombing of the Federal Building.

No one can forget the moving remarks of Bush 43 after 9/11.

And Obama did his part to calm fears in the aftermath of the shootings on his watch — too many to mention.

None of those chief executives turned the occasion into a political event. Apparently, however, Trump can’t help it. It is part of his politics of grievance.

“You insult me, I insult you back,” he has said. It is important, apparently, for him not to let a slight go unresponded to.

He seethes and rages, according to his staff. It is part of his sick, narcissistic, unhinged DNA. And he’s close to the nuclear button.

Not good.

One of the final indignities of the week were raids conducted by ICE in which some 680 Latino workers in Mississippi food processing plants were rounded up. It was the first day of school, and no one was there to pick up the kids when school was let out. They spent the night sleeping in the gym. Church and charitable groups were available to feed them, but the kids were very upset. Lots of frightened, crying children.

These were not child crisis actors.

They were human beings. A raid of this size had to have the advance OK from the president. He could have asked who the workers were, how they were feeding their families, their skill level, and, most importantly, how young were the children?

He didn’t do any of that, because he just doesn’t care.

Why should he?

It’s not about him. Biden is right. No president has ever talked or behaved that way since Andrew Jackson. I fear that it’s going to get worse. Trump is just plain mean.

George D. Ellis is a Benton attorney. He can be contacted at gellisinbenton@swbell.net.