President Donald Trump has doubled down on the use of Facebook advertising to promote his political message—one that is largely centered on fear-mongering about immigration, specifically that the country is facing an “invasion” at its Southern border.
Now, the president’s xenophobic rhetoric is once again at the forefront after a young white man from Texas allegedly traveled from the Dallas suburbs to the largely Hispanic border town of El Paso and gunned down 22 people at a crowded Walmart. The rampage was in response to what the shooter called “the Hispanic invasion of Texas,” according to a manifesto that’s believed to be his.
As many people pointed out, this clearly echoes the type of rhetoric that Trump has used both on the campaign trail and in digital ads. San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro, who chairs the Hispanic Caucus, told the New Republic: “If you look at the shooter’s language and the president’s language they were very similar, and the president has inspired hate and violence, especially against immigrants and Hispanic Americans. My fear is what the shooter says in his manifesto is true—that this is just the beginning because of the president’s rhetoric that he engages in regularly.”
