After former Congressman Beto O'Rourke (D) appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" and cited President Donald Trump's alleged racism as the reason behind the "violence in America," host Jake Tapper pressed El Paso Mayor Dee Margo on the issue.
Despite Tapper's repeated attempts to get Margo to take a stance on Trump's alleged racism, the Mayor shut him down.
"Former Congressman from El Paso, Beto O'Rourke, told me earlier in the show that, in his view, the president's anti-immigrant rhetoric is making things worse and creating an atmosphere of violence. Do you agree? Do you have any concerns about the things President Trump says about immigrants?" Tapper asked.
"Jake, I'm not qualified to make a comment on that. I'm not a talking head. I'm focusing on the El Pasoans and the 20 deaths, their families and what it means to this community and how we can come together and not be victimized by this," Margo responded. "This will not define us. We are a unique region that's been here for 350 years. There's families on both sides. There's commerce on both sides. We're bi-national and bi-cultural. We're almost 2.5 million people and our average age is 32. This will not define us."
Tapper set the stage for another ask.
"The Texas Land Commissioner, George P. Bush, said in a statement that 'white terrorism' is a 'real and present threat that we must all denounce and defeat.' Do you agree that white terrorism is a threat to the United States?" Tapper asked
"Jake, I'm not qualified to respond to that anymore than the previous question," Margo said. "I'm focusing on El Paso. There's evil in this world and it's unfortunate."