JUST TRY A LITTLE ‘LOVE’: TRUMP
Don offers vague solutions to America’s gun epidemic
President Trump pledged Monday to “act with urgent resolve” against the scourge of gun violence in the wake of mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, but offered few details on how he plans to do so and kept pushing gun lobby talking points.
Blaming mental illness and video games but not the sweeping availability of military-grade weapons, Trump delivered the limp promises in a national address from the White House, as the death toll rose to 31 from the weekend massacres in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
“These barbaric slaughters are an assault upon our communities, an attack upon our nation and a crime against all of humanity,” Trump said. “We vow to act with urgent resolve.”
In the address, Trump also offered a forceful condemnation of “racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” as authorities said the suspect in Saturday’s El Paso shooting had likely posted a racist manifesto online decrying the “Hispanic invasion of Texas” before the senseless assault.
But the president offered no acknowledgment that the suspected gunman’s alleged screed directly mirrored some of his own anti-immigrant rhetoric.
“These sinister ideologies must be defeated,” Trump said, reading from a teleprompter. “Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart and devours the soul.”
Staring stonily into a camera, Trump added that the hatred must be battled with “love” and “unity.”
Before the speech, Trump had tweeted that he wanted Republicans and Democrats to join forces in pushing for “strong background checks,” prompting hesitant optimism from gun control advocates that the legislative gridlock in Congress may finally open up on the longstalled issue.
But Trump did not expand on that declaration in his speech and instead toed the pro-gun line advocated by the National Rifle Association.
“Hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun,” Trump said before decrying “grisly video games” and “a culture that celebrates violence.”
The NRA, which spent millions on getting Trump elected in 2016, was pleased.
“The NRA welcomes the president’s call to address the root causes of the horrific acts of violence that have occurred in our country,” the
right-wing gun group said in a statement.
Trump proposed a modest and vague plan to address the gun violence epidemic, sparking howls of outrage and mocking from opponents who believe he is seeking to muddy the waters and deflect attention away from guns.
He called for bipartisan action to tighten background checks on gun purchases, but didn’t explain how that would happen and did not endorse a House-passed bill that has been blocked by Republicans in the Senate for months.
He also trumpeted his own action to ban so-called “bump stocks” that allow weapons to be converted into much more powerful killing machines.
“Now is the time to set destructive partisanship aside,” Trump said. “[Let’s] find the courage to answer hatred with unity, devotion and love. Our future is in our control.”
He said guns should be taken out of the hands of “those judged to pose a grave risk to public safety,” but again failed to provide specifics.
Trump made a similar statement after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., but quickly backed down in the face of stiff opposition from right-wing allies, including the NRA.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) denounced Trump’s speech.
“The president remains prisoner to the gun lobby and the NRA,” the two Democratic leaders said in a joint statement.
Critics also blamed Trump for fanning the flames of racism that he claimed to oppose in his White House address.
During a recent campaign speech, Trump laughed when a supporter shouted “shoot them” in response to his diatribe against immigrants.
Meanwhile, his campaign has mentioned an immigrant “invasion” 2,200 times in Facebook ads since May 2018, a new study revealed.
Former President Barack Obama called for new gun control measures and demanded that leaders refrain from hate speech, a not-sosubtle dig at Trump.
“We are not helpless here,” Obama said in a statement.
Gov. Cuomo demanded strict new anti-gun measures, including a ban on assault weapons and ammo-boosters.
“He should practice what he preaches,” Cuomo said Monday on WCBS radio.
“For the president to say there’s no place for hate is one of the great hypocritical statements of all time. This is a president who has fomented hate, let’s be honest.”
Democratic presidential hopefuls also slammed Trump for his reaction to the shootings.
“Instead of standing up to hatred, Trump sides with a mass murderer’s call to make our country more white,” said Beto O’Rourke, who returned to his hometown of El Paso after the massacre.
Trump is expected to visit both El Paso and Dayton on Wednesday to meet with local officials and families of the shooting victims.
Although Trump didn’t put blame on either party in his speech, the GOP has repeatedly blocked new gun control measures, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has thwarted consideration of a bipartisan universal background check bill since February.