Trump will visit Dayton today
Not many details of post-shooting trip available on day before.
President Donald Trump is coming to Dayton today, but few details are available or being made public about the details of his visit.
Gov. Mike DeWine confirmed the president’s visit Tuesday, but did not have many details.
“I do not know much about the visit. My understanding is that the president is coming tomorrow,” DeWine said. “I was invited to be there.”
“At this point I don’t know the final details,” he said.
DeWine said he thinks it is “appropriate” for President Trump to visit Dayton, the site of a mass shooting early Sunday that killed nine people.
“I think it’s always appropriate for a governor or the president to go where there is sorrow, to go where people are hurting. My understanding of the visit is that’s what it’s focused on,” DeWine said Tuesday in Columbus during an address unveiling proposals to fight gun violence.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway confirmed Tuesday that the president was making the trip. He “has wanted to go there since he learned of these tragedies,” she said.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued temporary flight restrictions on Dayton’s airspace from 10:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today for “VIP movement,” according to the agency’s website.
The president is expected to meet with first responders and families of the shooting victims during his visit. He made a similar visit to Columbus in December 2016.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said she will greet the president, but said his “rhetoric has been painful for many in our community, and I think people should stand up and say they are not happy if they are not happy he’s coming,” Whaley said.
Several people gathered Tuesday afternoon at City Hall to protest the president’s visit.
“Everyone has it in their power to be a force to bring people together and everyone has the power to be a force to bring people apart. That’s up to the president of the United States,” Whaley said.
“Look, I have no sense of what’s in President Trump’s mind at all, right?” she said. “I can only hope that as president of the United States he’s coming here because he wants to add value to our community, and he recognizes that that’s what our community needs.”
Congressman Mike Turner, R-Dayton, said he plans to discuss the shooting with President Trump during his visit.
“This tragedy must become a catalyst for a broader national conversation about what we can do to stop these mass shootings. I look forward to continuing this debate with my colleagues in Congress, as well as discussing these measures with the President during his trip to Dayton,” Turner said.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, plans to be with Trump on Wednesday.
“This was an unspeakable tragedy, and our focus should be on helping the community heal,” Portman spokeswoman Emily Benavides said. “Rob looks forward to joining the president on his visit.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he will not meet with the president during his visit to Dayton.
“I will not be there with him,” Brown said Tuesday on SiriusXM’s The Joe Madison Show. “I don’t have any interest because of what he’s done on this, total unwillingness to address the issue of guns, his racist rhetoric. I don’t know what he’s going to say and do there. I mean, I welcome him to the state in some sense, but not about this.”
Megan Fiely said she and another activist decided to put on the protest, and she said the president is not welcome in Dayton. The group protested in front of Dayton City Hall.
“The city needs to heal right now. We are so stressed,” Fiely said. “We’re not a photo opportunity for Trump.”
The group gathered chanted “do something,” hoping those inside city hall would take notice.
“Gun violence messed with the wrong town,” Fiely said. “Dayton, Ohio, will be the town to fix this.”
Assistant Police Chief Matt Carper said the details of the president’s visit are not finalized.
Asked at a press conference at City Hall if the city was ready for Trump’s visit, Carper said the city was prepared.
“We are always ready for any kind of dignitary assignment,” Carper said.