On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott admitted that “mistakes were made” when responding to a reporter’s question about his fundraising letter dated a day before the El Paso domestic terrorist attack. The letter, first published by The Signal, called on his supporters to “defend” Texas from undocumented immigrants.
The Governor’s remarks, during a meeting in El Paso, were first reported by El Paso Times journalist Aaron Montes.
In the Aug. 2 letter, Abbott wrote, “If we’re going to DEFEND Texas, we’ll need to take matters into our own hands.” In the following sentence, the governor cited statistics of undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
The white nationalist who killed 22 people in El Paso admitted the attack was in “response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas. I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion.”
Despite Abbott’s “mistakes-were-made” acknowledgment of the letter, the Texas Democratic Party didn’t let the governor off the hook.
“The first step in solving a problem is admitting we have one. In that respect, this Texas Safety Commission meeting is a step in the right direction,” said Executive Director Manny Garcia in a statement. “However, let’s be clear: Governor Abbott and the Republican Party’s white supremacist rhetoric, like that seen in Abbott’s fundraising mailer the day before the El Paso shooting, continues to be a major part of the problem. Governor Abbott has an apology to make.”
Photo of Abbott: shutterstock
