Trump vows urgent action
But president gives few details to stop violence; Dems call for his defeat
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday condemned weekend shootings in Texas and Ohio as barbaric crimes “against all humanity” and called for bipartisan cooperation to respond to an epidemic of gun violence. He blamed mental illness and video games but made no mention of more limits on sales of firearms.
Trump said he wanted legislation providing “strong background checks” for gun buyers, though he has reneged on previous promises after mass attacks. He offered few details.
“We vow to act with urgent resolve,” Trump said, speaking from the White House about shootings that left 31 dead as the count rose on Monday.
His scripted remarks came after two days of muted response to the shootings, and included a solitary denunciation of white supremacy, which he has been reluctant to criticize.
“In one voice, our nation must condemn
racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” Trump said, adding that he had directed the FBI to examine steps to identify and address domestic terrorism. “These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America,” he said.
Trump’s attempt at unifying the nation, without renouncing his own divisive language about immigrants and political opponents, followed his pattern in moments of national tragedy.
His path to the White House was built on the politics of division, and aides say he views his road to reelection on sowing discord and unease about cultural, economic and demographic changes. .
Democrats reacted viscerally to Trump’s handling of the shootings, renewing calls for his defeat.
Trump suggested earlier Monday on Twitter that a background check bill could be paired with his l ong- sought effort to toughen the nation’s immigration system.
But he didn’t say why he was connecting the issues. Both shooting suspects were U.S. citizens, and federal officials are investigating anti-immigrant bias as a potential motive for the El Paso, Texas, massacre.
He did not elaborate on that proposal during his 10-minute address from the Diplomatic Reception Room. But Trump has frequently sought to tie his immigration priorities — a border wall and transforming the legal immigration system to one that prioritizes merit over familial
ties — to legislation around which he perceives momentum to be building.
Trump’s proposed responses attempt to shift blame away from the heated rhetoric coming from the White House and his own campaign rallies and leave it to Congress, which is on recess, to sort out his solutions.
He signaled he would oppose large-scale gun control efforts pushed by Democrats, saying, “hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun.”
Trump called for law enforcement and social media companies to do more to combat extremism and spot warning signs of violence online. He also called for a reduction in the “glorification” of violence in American culture, laws to make it easier to commit those with mental illness and “red flag laws” to separate such individuals from firearms.
He directed the Department of Justice to seek and prioritize the enforcement of the death penalty in cases of hate crimes and mass shootings.
Congress has proven unable to pass substantial gun violence legislation this session, in large part because of resistance from Republicans, particularly in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Trump has reneged on previous pledges to strengthen gun laws.
After other mass shootings he called for strengthening the federal background check system, and in 2018 he signed legislation to increase federal agency data sharing. But he has resisted Democratic calls to toughen other gun control laws.
At a February meeting
with survivors and family members of the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting in which 17 people died, Trump promised to be “very strong on background checks.”
Trump claimed he would stand up to the gun lobby and finally get results in quelling gun violence. But he later retreated, expressing support for modest changes to the federal background check system and for arming teachers.
With his Monday proposals, Trump is providing a response to the shootings with ideas that many Republicans in Congress can embrace — without confronting the gun lobby and tackling the problems with firearm accessibility that many view as a driver of gun violence.
In the El Paso attack, investigators are focusing on whether it was a hate crime after the emergence of an anti-immigrant screed that was posted online shortly beforehand. Detectives sought to determine if it was written by the manwho was arrested.
On Twitter Monday, Trump seemed to deflect from scrutiny over the writings, which had language mirroring some of his own. As Democrats have called on Trump to tone down his rhetoric, Trump blamed the news media for the nation’s woes.
“Fake News has contributed greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years,” he said.
As Trump weighs trips to the affected communities — the Federal Aviation Administration advised pilots of a presidential visit Wednesday to El Paso and Dayton, Ohio.