The following article by Melanie Schmitz was posted on the ThinkProgress website May 31, 2018:
“We’re going to Dallas and Houston and we will have a little fun today.”
President Donald Trump promised that he would “have a little fun” while taking a trip to visit the families of shooting victims on Thursday.
Speaking with reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews Thursday morning, the president detailed his schedule for the day, boasting about the state of the economy and ongoing efforts to arrange a previously scrapped meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“I just want to tell you we’re doing very well with North Korea … a letter is going to be delivered to me from Kim Jong Un, so I look forward to seeing what’s in the letter,” Trump said. “…Other than that, the economy is good, stock market is up, a lot of jobs, best unemployment we’ve had in many, many decades actually. And we’re going to Dallas and Houston and we will have a little fun today.”
Trump is scheduled to meet in Houston on Thursday with family members of the 10 victims killed during a mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas last month. The May 18 shooting left at least 13 others wounded. Fatalities included eight students and two substitute teachers.
The president’s response to that shooting was widely panned for its casual nature, and Trump himself was criticized for only briefly mentioning the tragedy offhand during a summit.
“School shooting in Texas. Early reports not looking good. God bless all!” he tweeted in the initial aftermath of the shooting, before local law enforcement had divulged any details.
Later, during a meeting with local leaders from across the country to discuss prison reform, Trump spoke for approximately 90 seconds and expressed condolences for the victims’ loved ones before awkwardly turning the conversation to other things.
“This has been going on too long in our country. Too many years, too many decades now,” he said, referring to the nation’s long line of mass shootings. “…My administration is determined to do everything in our power to protect our students, secure our schools, and to keep weapons out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves and to others. Everyone must work together at every level of government to keep our children safe.”
After asking that “god be with the victims and with the victims’ families” and noting once more that it was “very, very sad,” the president quickly changed the subject. “On another note, a very positive note, I’m honored to be here today with so many leaders across the nation who are committed to the crucial issue of prison reform,” he said.
Trump’s comments appeared hollow, given he had delivered a speech at the annual NRA convention only one week earlier. During his remarks, the president claimed gun owners and gun advocates were “under siege” and promised to protect them.
“Thanks to your activism and dedication, you have an administration fighting to protect your Second Amendment and we will protect your Second Amendment,” he said. “Your Second Amendment rights are under siege, but they will never ever be under siege as long as I am your president.”
Trump has also abandoned promises he made to the victims and survivors of the February 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 people dead. Despite promising to crack down on gun violence by implementing stricter gun control measures, such as banning the sale of ban bump stocks and raising the age limit for purchases of assault-style rifles to 21, the president later caved to pressure from the NRA, which opposes those measures, following a series of meetings with top NRA brass.
The NRA spent at least $30 million in support of Trump during the 2016 presidential election. In return, the president has suggested NRA-friendly school violence policies such as arming teachers and adding more metal detectors at school entrances, both of which largely ignore the issue of gun violence itself.
Trump is scheduled to meet with supporters in Houston after meeting with the victims’ families, and will speak at the National Republican Senatorial Committee lunch. The president will also attend a supporter event at The Adolphus Hotel in Dallas before returning to Washington, D.C.