Trump, Biden Goof on Shooting Locations

As the president places some blame on 'gruesome and grizzly video games'
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 5, 2019 11:29 AM CDT
Trump, Biden Goof on Shooting Locations
President Donald Trump speaks about the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The president on Monday spoke out against the weekend shootings in Texas and Ohio, first on Twitter and then in a 10-minute address from the Diplomatic Reception Room. Trump tweeted in part that "Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks, perhaps marrying.... ....this legislation with desperately needed immigration reform. We must have something good, if not GREAT, come out of these two tragic events!" CNN reports he did not mention background checks in his subsequent scripted remarks, where he spoke out against the internet, social media, and "the gruesome and grizzly video games that are now commonplace." The president said that “in one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart and devours the soul."

In the AP's view, Trump didn't get specific about solutions and "signaled he would oppose large-scale gun control efforts pushed by Democrats," which the AP saw as evident in his comment that "mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun." The Washington Post, however, heard a number of "possible steps," including a mention of "red-flag laws" designed to better surface mentally ill people who should be barred from buying guns. One other comment that gained attention: his closing remarks, in which USA Today reports Trump mistakenly stated, "May God bless the memory of those who died in Toledo. May God protect them." The Ohio shooting occurred in Dayton. The Washington Examiner reports Joe Biden made a bigger goof at a San Diego fundraiser Sunday night when he referenced "the tragic events in Houston today and also in Michigan the day before." He later acknowledged he meant to say El Paso and Ohio. (More President Trump stories.)

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