The grandmother of Brenton Tarrant, charged with murder in the Christchurch terror attack, has spoken out. Video / Nine
The mass shooting of Muslim worshippers by an alleged white supremacist in Christchurch has underscored the deep partisan divide over US President Donald Trump's rhetoric on immigrants and whether his words serve as incitement for extremist violence.
Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said it was "absurd" to draw a connection between Trump's many statements about immigration and the suspected shooter's words on the subject, spelt out in a manifesto.
President Donald Trump speaks about border security in the Oval Office of the White House. Photo / AP
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Mulvaney said, "I don't think it's fair to cast this person as a supporter of Donald Trump."
Mulvaney said, "There are folks who just don't like the president and everything that goes wrong they're going to look for a way to tie that to the president."
"The president is not a white supremacist," he added later, responding to critics who accused the president of echoing the suspected gunman's rhetoric in comments from the Oval Office hours after the massacre.
Announcing his veto of a congressional resolution that would block his declaration of a national emergency at the US border with Mexico, Trump called the movement of undocumented immigrants into the United States an "invasion."
"Last month, more than 76,000 illegal migrants arrived at our border," he said. "We're on track for a million illegal aliens to rush our borders. People hate the word 'invasion,' but that's what it is."
Mulvaney also sought to distance Trump from the alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant.
People gather to mourn near Masjid Al Noor, Hagley Park , Christchurch. Photo / Michael Craig
Scott Brown, the US ambassador to New Zealand, dismissed Tarrant's manifesto and encouraged people not to read it. "I don't give any credibility whatsoever to the ramblings of somebody who is rotten to the core and, clearly, is an extremist of the worst kind, who could walk into two mosques and, without any care whatsoever, kill people," Brown said on CNN's State of the Union.
Others on Sunday denounced Trump's response to the attack. On Friday, Trump said that he does not believe white nationalism is a growing global danger and that the suspect belongs to "a small group of people that have very, very serious problems."
On CNN's State of the Union, Rashida Tlaib, one of three Muslim lawmakers serving in the House, urged Trump to deliver a message of support to the Muslim community in the wake of the New Zealand attack.
Trump "is the most powerful man in the world right now," Tlaib said, urging him to speak out about domestic terrorism to the same degree that he has about foreign terrorism. "The fact that we continue to stay silent is what's going to make us as a country less safe."
She also disputed Trump's claim that white nationalism is not on the rise.
"I think he needs to pick up the phone and call the Department of Justice. ... He cannot just say it's a small group of people. There's too many deaths," Tlaib said, pointing to recent attacks on worshipers at synagogues, black churches and mosques. "He needs to do better by us in the country."
Amy Klobuchar, a 2020 presidential candidate, also urged Trump to take a stronger stand against anti-Muslim bigotry.
The man charged in relation to the Christchurch massacre Brenton Tarrant is lead into the dock for his appearance. Photo / Mark Mitchell
"At the very least, he should be giving strong statements, public speeches defending Muslims in this world," Klobuchar said on "State of the Union." "I think it's on all of us to condemn this hate."
Trump on Sunday appeared to take the opposite approach, however. In morning tweets, he issued a defiant defense of Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro, whose on-air remarks last week about a Muslim lawmaker, Ilhan Omar, sparked broad criticism and prompted a condemnation from the network itself.
Pirro had opened her show on March 9 criticising Omar for what she called "anti-Israel sentiment" and questioning whether it was rooted in Omar's Islamic beliefs.
"Omar wears a hijab, which, according to the Koran 33:59, tells women to cover so they won't get molested," Pirro said on her show. "Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?"
Trump said Sunday that Fox should "bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro."
"The Radical Left Democrats, working closely with their beloved partner, the Fake News Media, is using every trick in the book to SILENCE a majority of our Country," Trump said in a tweet. "They have all out campaigns against @FoxNews hosts who are doing too well."
Bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro. The Radical Left Democrats, working closely with their beloved partner, the Fake News Media, is using every trick in the book to SILENCE a majority of our Country. They have all out campaigns against @FoxNews hosts who are doing too well. Fox .....
In a second tweet, he added that the network should "fight back with vigor" against those who have criticised her remarks.
"Stop working soooo hard on being politically correct, which will only bring you down, and continue to fight for our Country," Trump said. "The losers all want what you have, don't give it to them. Be strong & prosper, be weak & die!"
....must stay strong and fight back with vigor. Stop working soooo hard on being politically correct, which will only bring you down, and continue to fight for our Country. The losers all want what you have, don’t give it to them. Be strong & prosper, be weak & die! Stay true....
