Donald Trump’s poisonous anti-immigration rhetoric is turning America into a war zone

Editorial: The next time the US president goes down this track, as he surely will, his admirers at home and abroad should stop and think about El Paso and Dayton

Two horrific mass shootings, in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, which left a total of at least 29 people dead and more injured, have again highlighted the need to reform US gun laws.

The attack at a Walmart in El Paso appears to have a sinister undertone. Police are investigating whether a white supremacist manifesto, posted anonymously online minutes before the shootings, is linked to the killer. Mexico is visible from the parking lot on a clear day. Thousands of Central American families have sought asylum in the city, which is home to generations of Mexican-Americans and seen as a symbol of integration.

“This is about hate,” said Veronica Escobar, El Paso’s Democratic congresswoman. Beto O’Rourke, a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination who comes from El Paso, pointed the finger of blame at Donald Trump. He told CNN: “He is a racist. He is stoking racism in this country ... and it fundamentally changes the character of the country and leads to violence.”