After the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Samantha Fuentes, who was shot in both of her legs on February 14th, was recovering in the hospital when she received a phone call from the President.
Per The New York Times:
“He said he heard that I was a big fan of his, and then he said, ‘I’m a big fan of yours too.’ I’m pretty sure he made that up,” she said in an interview after being discharged from the hospital. “Talking to the president, I’ve never been so unimpressed by a person in my life. He didn’t make me feel better in the slightest.”
Ms. Fuentes, who was left with a piece of shrapnel lodged behind her right eye, said Mr. Trump had called the gunman a “sick puppy” and said “‘oh boy, oh boy, oh boy,’ like, seven times.”
The cringeworthy conversation comes on the heels of a series of moments in which Trump has proven himself utterly incapable of exhibiting empathy or compassion.
During a “listening session” at the White House with several students and parents impacted by the Parkland, Florida shooting, Trump was caught by a camera holding a cheat sheet of sorts, in which he wrote to remind himself to tell the students, “I hear you.”
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President Donald Trump holds notes during a White House listening session with students and parents affected by school shootings. (AP Photo by Carolyn Kaster) pic.twitter.com/Z0lZbSVaoF
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) February 21, 2018
In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, Trump opted to throw paper towels at residents of the island. And after speaking with the widow of Sgt. La David T. Johnson, who was killed in an attack in Niger, Trump reportedly failed to reference Ms. Johnson’s late husband by name, referring to him only as “your guy” and claiming he “knew what he signed up for.”
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Of course, while Trump may have thought he could coast through yet another tragedy exhibiting such shameful behavior unscathed, he quickly realized that was not the case. Led by the students, Americans have taken an unprecedented stand against the NRA and its stranglehold on the Republican Party, which is now being forced to answer for yet another unpopular position.
This tragedy may have confirmed what we already knew about Trump, but Americans have finally reached a tipping point. Midterms are fast approaching, and the Republican Party has plenty to fear.
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