On the heels of Wednesday’s devastating mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 people were killed and dozens injured, Trump took to Twitter announcing that he would travel to meet with “some of the bravest people on earth,” a reference to those impacted by the horrific events earlier this week.
I will be leaving for Florida today to meet with some of the bravest people on earth – but people whose lives have been totally shattered. Am also working with Congress on many fronts.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 16, 2018
Despite calls from countless students and residents of Parkland to stay away, Trump showed up at a hospital where the injured were being treated.
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As he has proven on numerous occasions, Trump has proven wholly unable to grasp empathy, tact, or compassion. In a photo with hospital staff – the same people who cared for dozens of children injured at the hands of a lunatic who had legal access to a military-grade weapon – Trump opted to give a thumbs up.
This is a far cry from the compassion, genuine sorrow, and calls for action that we saw when a true leader with heart occupied the White House:
The visual difference between Trump and Obama when talking about or visiting the aftermath of a school shooting is striking. Did anyone tell Trump it’s not a celebration? pic.twitter.com/cgwy32ql8S
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) February 17, 2018
Trump, for his part, seems unable to tell the difference between a hotel opening ceremony and a scene of unspeakable sadness. Of course, this should come as no surprise given the fact that Trump, like those in his party, refuse to even acknowledge – let alone blame – the role of guns in a mass shooting.
President Trump visits hospital where Florida school shooting victims are being treated pic.twitter.com/Wy8qEX3Us9
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 17, 2018
While Trump was quick to congratulate the law enforcement officers and first responders, he simply walked away when a reporter asked about guns. In other words, Trump traveled to Florida to tout the same old script that he has peddled so many times before; effectively, great job responding quickly to a crime that my party and I are wholly complicit in letting occur on a constant basis by virtue of failing to act time and time again. It seems that Republicans are satisfied with allowing these shootings to occur so long as they can use them extol the speed of the first responders.
This is the 59th mass shooting at or near a school this academic year. Americans are absolutely fed up with the inaction of Republicans in Washington who would rather defend the NRA than their own constituents. Trump is not a leader, but simply a narcissistic fetishist for a photo-op.
He’s about to have a serious wake-up call come November.
Follow Brian Tyler Cohen on Facebook and Twitter.
