President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press before departing from the White House en route to Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas. Getty Images
In the wake of the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, 71% of IrishCentral readers say President Trump is inciting hatred in America.
In a recent poll of 1,862 IrishCentral readers, 70.96% responded "Yes" when asked if they think Trump is inciting hate in America. Individuals who voted "Yes" totaled 1,321, and those who voted "No" totaled 541.
The question built upon comments made by candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination former VP Joe Biden and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke.
Read More: White Supremacist murder in El Paso - the damage that Trump inflicts
In the wake of the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, they each called out Trump for inciting hatred and emboldening white supremacists.
O'Rourke, who is from El Paso, served on its City Council and represented the region in Congress, left the campaign trail and canceled scheduled events in Nevada and California to return to his home city. When a reporter asked him what Trump could do to make the situation better, O'Rourke essentially stated that the question was preposterous given Trump's rhetoric:
'What the f***?' - Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke says President Trump's language against minorities promotes racial division and violence.
Two mass shootings left 29 people dead this weekend in the US.
For more on the story: https://t.co/OmcmrDIRKm pic.twitter.com/ULEcYi8x1a
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 5, 2019
Biden said that Trump is using"the office of the presidency to encourage and embolden white supremacy," highlighting his use of "infestation" and "invasion" in reference to immigrants, language the EL Paso shooter mirrored.
Read more: Is Trump our Ian Paisley, have the Troubles come to the United States?
Let's be very clear. You use the office of the presidency to encourage and embolden white supremacy. You use words like "infestation" and "invasion" to talk about human beings. We won't truly speak with one voice against hatred until your voice is no longer in the White House. https://t.co/CW3wxxTm2E
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 5, 2019
The poll ran from August 7 - August 9. In that time, Trump visited both El Paso and Dayton, and Ireland joined a number of other countries issuing travel warnings about the United States.
Read More: Irish-born Congressman slams Trump's tweets as "racist, hate-filled, and inflammatory"