Trump refuses to join guns debate
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump stuck to a sombre script Monday after at least 58 people were shot dead in Las Vegas, condemning the largest mass shooting in modern U.S. history as an “act of pure evil” and declaring the nation would unite behind the survivors. He refused to get into a new debate over gun control.
Faced with the sad and familiar ritual of a president offering consolation after horrific violence, Trump spoke slowly and carefully from the White House Diplomatic Room, focusing not on the identity or possible motive of the shooter but on the nation’s efforts to heal.
“Our unity cannot be shattered by evil, our bonds cannot be broken by violence,” the president said. “We call upon the bonds that unite us: our faith, our family, and our shared values. We call upon the bonds of citizenship, the ties of community, and the comfort of our common humanity.”
Trump spoke hours after a man on the 32nd floor of a Vegas Strip casino opened fire on people at an outdoor country music festival below. The man, 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock, killed at least 58 people as tens of thousands of concertgoers screamed and ran for their lives. More than 500 people were hurt.
In a measured statement that was revised by aides until moments before he spoke, Trump did not describe the attacker in any way or suggest what might have been behind his actions. He praised the first responders who he said prevented further loss of life and said he would visit Las Vegas on Wednesday. He offered condolences to the families of those killed, saying, “We cannot fathom their pain. We cannot imagine their loss.”
Like presidents before him, Trump marked the events by ordering the American flags at all public buildings across the nation flown at half-staff, and he observed a moment of silence on the White House lawn. Unlike his predecessor, Barack Obama, who responded to mass shootings by calling for stricter gun control measures, Trump made no mention of firearms restrictions.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders repeatedly rebuffed questions about whether laws need to be stricter, saying the day after the mass shooting was not the “time and place for a political debate.”
But the familiar discourse did ignite Monday, once again breaking along party lines.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said it was time for Congress to end the inaction that followed other major shootings, including the one in Orlando and the 2012 school shooting in his home state. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called for the creation of a committee on gun violence and increased background checks. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said he would not participate in a moment of silence for those lost because it “becomes an excuse for inaction.”
But Republicans largely avoided the subject.
Both House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered sympathetic tweets for those who lost their lives but made no mention of gun policy.
Before he was a candidate, Trump at one point favoured some gun restrictions. He has more recently cast himself as an ardent protector of the Second Amendment.