President Trump
Donald John TrumpBooker calls Trump’s address on mass shootings ‘bull—t soup’ A plea to progressive political pundits: Stop wringing your hands GOP state lawmaker: ‘Republican Party is enabling white supremacy in our country’ MORE on Tuesday morning addressed former President Obama’s statement about the mass shootings last weekend, tweeting a quote from “Fox & Friends” co-anchor Brian Kilmeade criticizing the former president’s response to mass shootings during his presidency.
Trump tweeted the quote shortly after Kilmeade expressed dismay with Obama’s statements regarding the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend that left at least 32 people dead.
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“I’m just wondering did [George W. Bush] ever condemn President Obama after Sandy Hook?” Kilmeade asked, referring to a 2012 mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. “[Obama] had 32 mass shootings of four or more during his reign. Not many people said, ‘wow President Obama is out of control.’ 17 so far for President Trump. It’s way too high.”
“But I have news for you. Mass shootings were happening before the president thought about even running for president of the United States,” he continued.
“Did George Bush ever condemn President Obama after Sandy Hook. President Obama had 32 mass shootings during his reign. Not many people said Obama is out of Control. Mass shootings were happening before the President even thought about running for Pres.” @kilmeade @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2019
In the wake of the shootings, Obama on Monday issued a lengthy statement urging Americans to reject leaders who feed “a climate of fear and hatred.”
“We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred and normalizes racist sentiment,” he said. “Leaders who demonize those who don’t look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people.”
Obama did not mention Trump by name, but his words amounted to an implicit rebuke of Trump.
Obama’s statement came as many Democratic lawmakers called for greater regulations surrounding gun purchases. It also came as more details emerged about the alleged shooter in El Paso. The suspect is believed to have posted an anti-immigrant manifesto on the fringe message board platform 8chan before carrying out the attack on Saturday.
Some have argued that the manifesto, which refers to Hispanics coming to the U.S. as an invasion, echoed Trump’s immigration rhetoric.
Trump on Monday urged the nation to condemn bigotry and white supremacy while delivering remarks from the White House. He also placed support behind “red flag” laws that would allow law enforcement to confiscate guns with a court order.
