Where the Hell Is Donald Trump? [UPDATED]
Update, Sunday, 4:38 p.m. ET: Donald Trump has finally emerged from his New Jersey golf resort to comment about the dual white terrorist attacks this weekend. Trump, accompanied by Melania, spoke to reporters briefly before boarding Air Force One.
The president expressed his condolences to the people of El Paso and Dayton and praised law enforcement for an “incredible” job. “So incredible,” he said.
He called the two latest cities to fall victim to terrorist attacks “incredible places.”
“Hate has no place in our country and we’re going to take care of it,” he added.
Trump said he’s “talking to a lot of people,” and that he had done “much more than most administrations.”
“We have done actually a lot,” he said.
The president then claimed, without offering proof, that the attacks were a “mental illness problem.”
“A lot of things are happening,” he concluded before boarding a plane.
He said he would comment further tomorrow. Tough day at work.
“Hate has no place in our country,” White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted immediately afterward.
The president made no mention of white supremacy or pushing for the adoption of tougher gun laws.
Original post continues here:
Saturday’s white terrorist attack at a Walmart in El Paso, TX was horrific. The violence, which claimed at least 20 lives and injured scores of others, is unfathomable. The shooter allegedly targeted people because of their ethnicity.
Hours later, another attack in Dayton, OH left at least nine dead and 26 more injured. Video demonstrates the rapid gunfire, the panic, the terror.
Three mass shootings have occurred in the United States already in the month of August. Dayton was the 251st this year alone. El Paso was the deadliest this year. As Slate points out, citing the Gun Violence Archive, the second-deadliest shooting this year occurred in May in Virginia Beach, where 12 people were killed. The Dayton shooting was the third deadliest this year. Last Sunday, three people—including two children—were killed at an outdoor festival in California.
All of this, and the president of the United States is nowhere to be seen.
After the 2015 mass shooting in San Bernadino, CA, which killed 14 and injured nearly two-dozen others, then-President Barack Obama quickly spoke with reporters to update the nation, based on briefings from law enforcement officials. “What I can assure the American people is we’re going to get to the bottom of this,” he said at the time.
President George W. Bush spoke from the White House after the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, which killed 32 people. “Schools should be places of safety, sanctuary, and learning,” he said. “When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community.”
President Bill Clinton spoke after the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado in 1999, saying, “I think it is important to remember that we must come together and pray together, but also commit to act together.”
President Donald Trump did speak after the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. But as of this writing, and with back-to-back attacks in a span of about 13 hours, Trump hasn’t yet appeared on TV to address to the nation.
Trump—or someone using his account—has published statements on Twitter. On Saturday, he tweeted about the “Terrible shootings in ElPaso, Texas.” Shortly after, he tweeted about a UFC fighter. He retweeted a post claiming that he’s not racist. He retweeted an article about his own statement on El Paso. Finally, late into the evening, he tweeted his “heartfelt thoughts and prayers.”
On Sunday, he tweeted about the Dayton shooting, praising law enforcement efforts and promising updates throughout the day. “God bless the people of El Paso Texas. God bless the people of Dayton, Ohio,” he added.
Sen. Kamala Harris responded on Sunday on CNN by saying, “We have a president of the United States who does not understand the responsibility of that office.”
Of course, if the president does eventually show up to work today, I will update this post. Meanwhile, maybe there’s a reason he hasn’t spoken out yet:
Oh wait. Here he is: