Beto O’Rourke is back on the campaign trail after a short break, noted in his absence from the Iowa State Fair where many candidates appeared to attract early voters. The El Paso native took time off from his campaign after the shooting at an El Paso Walmart to grieve with his home town. The person who allegedly fired the shots in El Paso cited “the Hispanic invasion of Texas” as his reason for his raid — something that sounds disturbingly similar to President Donald Trump’s Tweets. 

O’Rourke now plans to focus his campaign trail on minority communities that are affected by Trump’s racist comments. He has targeted the president, in particular, as the cause of the recent shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.

And while O’Rourke’s actions may be justified, considering his proximity to the situation, it has also been an indicator of how he will respond to emergencies if elected president. This is not to say that a president should not grieve. Following the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks, President George Bush took the time to hug and console people who had lost friends and family. 

However, some of O’Rourke’s actions have brought his credibility into question. After an emotional vigil in El Paso, a reporter asked the president hopeful, “Is there anything in your mind that the president can do now to make this any better?” O’Rourke responded, “What do you think? You know the s*** he’s been saying. He’s been calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. I don’t know, like, members of the press, what the f***?” He then proceeded to tell the press to “connect the dots,” saying he “didn’t know what kind of a question” that was.

O’Rourke has been seem to have a short fuse when it comes to issues he’s passionate about. We’ve seen it on the debate stage, on his Twitter and on Meet the Press. And while some voters may view his unrestrained anger and frustration as the person who can bring real, permanent change to the country, there are some undeniable parallels between how Donald Trump and Beto O’Rourke conduct themselves. 

For one, they both respond to opposing with views defensively and struggle to reach across the aisle and compromise. The second parallel is their relationship with the press. In context, O’Rourke’s previous quote came after a long, stressful night when he was looking for his wife and children. However, it cannot be mistaken that the person O’Rourke attacked that night was the press. Not Donald Trump, not the law, not anything variable. Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the press for being the “enemy of the people” and spreading fake news to the public to skew his reputation.

While Beto may uphold the values of the Democratic Party, his anger puts him in danger of losing the public’s trust. 

In other news, former Colorado Governor and Mayor John Hickenlooper left the race on Aug. 15. While he did not cite any particular reasons for leaving the race, it can be inferred that it was due to his low polling numbers and the cost of his campaign. In a Youtube video he released, he said he has been advised to run for Senate and will give the idea “some serious thought.”

Check back next week for another update on the 2020 election. As always, feel free to leave your comments, questions or opinions down below.