 August 7, 2019  📸: Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images President Trump visited Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas Wednesday following two mass shootings over the weekend that left at least 31 dead and dozens more injured.
MSNBC's Jacob Soboroff was in El Paso. After meeting with both locals and lawmakers on the ground, here are his main takeaways.
El Paso, TX -- The people of El Paso are positive. I’ve seen calls for unity, and a great spirit of togetherness, while crowds waited for the President Trump’s visit. This is impressive, given the way the president has talked about Latinos, and that Latinos make up a majority of the population here.
I also spoke to presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke today, who represented the area in Congress for six years. “This country has been racist as long as it has been a country,” Beto told me, “But [President Trump] has certainly been fanning the flames.” O’Rourke described the president as a “white supremacist.”
 📸: Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images
In Case You Missed It:  Following this weekend’s mass shootings, Tucker Carlson denied white supremacy, claiming "it's all just a hoax." FBI Director Wray testified under oath, saying "most domestic terrorism arrests this year involve white supremacy." (The Beat)
 Between meetings with officials and victims of the mass shootings in both Dayton and El Paso, Trump spent his day settling scores with critics and tweeting attacks at critics. Michael Crowley, Annie Karni, and María Teresa Kumar discuss. (11th Hour)
 On Trump’s appeal to white nationalists, Chris Matthews says “In their lemming-like way of following Trump, they are identifying their Grand Old Party as a new party of Trump-style white nationalism. This isn’t going to go away.” (Hardball)
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Quote of the Day — Fmr. VP Joe Biden (Video)
Opinion OPINION. El Paso was an attack on Mexico and Mexican Americans. But we will not be silenced. In spite of its macho façade, Texas today is a multiethnic bastion, with Mexicans, Americans and thousands of others creating a fabulous stew of possibilities. Separating that stew is like trying to separate the ingredients in a plate of salsa. By Ilan Stavans.
OPINION. Pipe-bomber Cesar Sayoc's lawyers named Trump in their defense. They won't be the only ones. Already, defendants have begun raising objections to cases that include witnesses who have cooperated with federal authorities because Trump has repeatedly used the biggest megaphone in the country to say that “flippers” (as he calls them) should be illegal. Now, we are seeing the emergence of the “Trump made me do it” defense in criminal cases — or at least the “Trump influenced me” mitigation. By Mimi Rocah, former assistant U.S. attorney and NBC/MSNBC legal analyst.
What to watch Thursday It's a rite of summer for Iowans and a staple of the campaign trail for presidential candidates: the Iowa State Fair.
On Thursday, MSNBC reporters will be at the fairgrounds as Steve Bullock and Joe Biden become the first of many 2020 contenders to drop by for their turn at the Soapbox and to snack on fried Oreos and pork on a stick.
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