August 5-11: The Whole World’s Watching

One thing about Beto O’Rourke is true; his following has tended to lean towards the
small side. Although he has millions of supporters, it’s nothing compared to the amount that
bigger candidates like Sanders, Biden, Warren or Harris have. For O’Rourke, this means
small-town efforts are what matter more to him; capturing the attention of small groups of people
rather than focusing on the big picture. This week, however, all eyes were turned to him. After
the horrible shooting in El Paso, O’Rourke’s hometown, Trump took to twitter to call Beto a
phony and call him out for only holding 1% of the polls, and accused him of taking advantage of
the victims of the deadly shooting. O’Rourke’s social media platforms soon became covered in
response to Trump’s tweets, his Instagram and Twitter read “El Paso will not be quiet.”
O’Rourke’s engagement on his social media platforms soon grew to be much higher in the
aftermath of Trump’s words, and as O’Rourke visited his hometown to pay respects to the
victims. This sparked another wave of criticism towards O’Rourke, with many accusing him of
simply going as a political opportunity. However, Beto’s strong followers were quick to fight
back on his Twitter and Instagram comments, telling those off who believed he had nothing but
love and respect for his community. O’Rourke’s social media platforms this week truly
demonstrated his true colors, as he dedicated his tweets and posts to remembrance and an attempt
to rebuild the community he came from. To close out the week, O’Rourke writes “El Paso will
never be defined by the shooter who drove 600 miles to bring terror to our home,” and continues
to reassure his followers that he will work to make sure the whole nation knows that.