President Trump to visit mass shooting sites amid criticism
DONALD Trump is to visit the sites of mass shootings in Ohio and Texas amid warnings he will not be welcome.
The attacks in Dayton and El Paso left 31 people dead.
The US president spoke out on racism and hatred following the shootings but has been accused of stoking the same sentiments he sought to condemn.
The Democratic congresswoman who represents El Paso said she would not meet him, urging him to understand that his words "have consequences".
"I refuse to join without a dialogue about the pain his racist and hateful words & actions have caused our community and country," Veronica Escobar tweeted.
The El Paso shooting is being treated as a possible hate crime. Much of the city identifies as Hispanic or Latino and the suspect is thought to be the author of a text posted online which said "this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas".
The text echoed some of the US president’s language, with Mr Trump having frequently used the term “invasion” to describe the situation on the US-Mexico border.
Remarks by Mr Trump and others which linked the shootings to mental illness have also been criticised.
Ms Escobar is not the only one to suggest Mr Trump faces a cool reception in El Paso. Beto O’Rourke, a native of the city and Democratic presidential challenger, said Mr Trump “has no place here”.
Both he and Ms Escobar have said they will attend a community event intended to honour those who died and “confront white supremacy”.
In a tweet on Tuesday night, the president mocked Mr O’Rourke’s Spanish nickname, “Beto” and suggested he should “be quiet”. The Irish congressman’s birth name is Robert, but he was given the nickname as a child as he has the same name as his grandfather.