--- title: Pittsburgh Community Stands With El Paso After Shooting description: Members of the Tree of Life community in Pittsburgh demanded that Trump recognize that words matter and denounce white nationalism, but he didn't. Now people have died in El Paso and other cities across the country. canonical: https://time.com/5646842/el-paso-shooting-pittsburgh-white-nationalism/ author: Avigail Oren article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-08-08T00:11:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:47.319Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Trump Refused to Listen When We Told Him That Words Matter og:description: Now our country has been struck by tragedy once again. og:url: https://time.com/5646842/el-paso-shooting-pittsburgh-white-nationalism/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a7f6fcc0d332921/698a010c09208ff6e3415582/pittsburg-shootings-oped.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: 22 Dead And 26 Injured In Mass Shooting At Shopping Center In El Paso og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Refused to Listen When We Told Him That Words Matter twitter:description: Now our country has been struck by tragedy once again. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a7f6fcc0d332921/698a010c09208ff6e3415582/pittsburg-shootings-oped.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # We Asked Trump to Recognize That Words Matter. His Refusal to Do So Has Led to More Tragedy > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: 69 People Have Been Killed in Mass Shootings in 2019 Alone [Watch (HLS stream): 69 People Have Been Killed in Mass Shootings in 2019 Alone](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DfbXzH5L.m3u8) (2:01)  _Published 2019-08-05. Still reeling after two mass shootings in early August resulted in 31 deaths in two states over a span of less than 24 hours, the U.S. has been rocked by another gun rampage in West Texas that left 7 people dead and many more injured_ by [Avigail Oren](https://time.com/author/avigail-oren/) and [Jonathan Mayo](https://time.com/author/jonathan-mayo/) Aug 8, 2019 12:11 AM UTC  EL PASO, TEXAS - AUGUST 07: Candles are lit at a makeshift memorial honoring victims outside Walmart, near the scene of a mass shooting which left at least 22 people dead, on August 7, 2019 in El Paso, Texas. A 21-year-old white male suspect remains in custody in El Paso which sits along the U.S.-Mexico border. President Donald Trump plans to visit the city later today. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) EL PASO, TEXAS - AUGUST 07: Candles are lit at a makeshift memorial honoring victims outside Walmart, near the scene of a mass shooting which left at least 22 people dead, on August 7, 2019 in El Paso, Texas. A 21-year-old white male suspect remains in custody in El Paso which sits along the U.S.-Mexico border. President Donald Trump plans to visit the city later today. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Mario Tama—Getty Images by [Avigail Oren](https://time.com/author/avigail-oren/) and [Jonathan Mayo](https://time.com/author/jonathan-mayo/) Aug 8, 2019 12:11 AM UTC Jews of Pittsburgh watched with horror, and unfortunate familiarity, this weekend as two more shootings left communities in mourning. For many of us, memories flooded back from that Saturday morning nine months ago when we waited to hear who, and how many, from our community had been lost. Pittsburgh is now tied to [El Paso](https://time.com/5643420/victims-el-paso-shooting/) by a web of hate. With [Christchurch](https://time.com/longform/christchurch-new-zealand-love-mosque-massacres/), Poway, Charleston and too many others, we share the tragic bond of terror brought on by the violence of the white power movement. We have a choice. We can let hate win – and these days it seems like it often is winning – or we can fight. That fight starts with the President. The leader of our country has empowered, enabled and encouraged this hatred. His deference to [“both sides,”](https://time.com/4902159/donald-trump-there-is-blame-on-both-sides-for-violent-clashes-in-charlottesville/) characterizations of honest, loving human beings as [“rats](https://time.com/5637179/baltimore-sun-slams-trump-cummings-op-ed/)” that “infest” our country, demands that elected representatives [“go back”](https://time.com/5626813/donald-trump-racist-tweets-transcript/) to their countries and constant references to an [“invasion”](https://time.com/5644433/donald-trump-el-paso-shooting-words/) of migrants provide the match to the kindling of white nationalism. Three months ago, ranting about migrants at a Florida rally, Trump asked, “How do you stop these people?” “Shoot them,” yelled a person in the crowd. And that’s exactly what someone did. But they will not stop us. We are weaving together communities where relationships did not exist before. We have seen the awesome power of solidarity. When we marched in Pittsburgh and demanded the President fully denounce white nationalism, we didn’t do it alone. Pittsburgh’s Jews were surrounded by and supported by the larger Pittsburgh (and even a global) community, calling for the President to recognize that words matter. We realized his rhetoric was deadly, not only for the Jewish community. And that has been proven, sadly, time and time again since October 27. Words made us a target. Our community spoke out in defense of immigrants and refugees. Words also motivated a white nationalist to terrorize shoppers at a Walmart in El Paso, a city that is 80 percent Hispanic or Latinx. In that case, though, it was the words of the President of the United States. Since we made our demands of the President, we have been waiting for him to denounce white nationalism. And waiting. And waiting. When he finally did, reading stiffly and awkwardly from a teleprompter on Monday, it was hard to find the words anything but hollow and insincere. There’s a reason: He is a racist. We see you, Mr. Trump. And the people of El Paso see you. To borrow from the impassioned words of Beto O’Rourke, we _do_ know how to [connect the dots](https://time.com/5644361/el-paso-shooting-donald-trump-democrats/). And the connected dots all lead right back to you. The white nationalist playbook, in many ways, is simple: use hate to divide. Keep those who should be standing shoulder to shoulder, who should be holding each other up, apart. Do it with hateful rhetoric and, yes, with violence. We in Pittsburgh are here to tell the people of El Paso, Dayton, Gilroy, Christchurch, Poway, Charleston and every place where the politics of hatred turns to bloodshed that we will not allow this division to happen. We grieve with you and we stand with you in solidarity. We invite you to join us as we reject hate and division, embrace diversity and inclusion, building a safer multiracial democracy. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5646842/el-paso-shooting-pittsburgh-white-nationalism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5646842/el-paso-shooting-pittsburgh-white-nationalism/"},"headline":"We Asked Trump to Recognize That Words Matter. 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