President Donald Trump paid visits Wednesday to two cities reeling from mass shootings that left 31 dead and dozens more wounded. But his divisive words preceded him, large protests greeted him and biting political attacks soon followed. Protesters gathered, blaming Trump's incendiary rhetoric for inflaming political and racial tensions in the country and demanding action on gun control. Some said Trump was not welcome in their city.
In El Paso, City Councilwoman Claudia Ordaz Perez and County Commissioner Vincent Perez called on Trump to to more. "If the President fails to strongly condemn this racially-motivated terrorist attack and fails to call for an end to the use of violence against minority groups by radicalized white nationalist terrorists during his visit,"they said in a statement. "His continued depiction of immigrants and migrants as a threat to our nation will only place our community at greater risk for racially-motivated attacks."