President Donald Trump landed in Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon, on his second consecutive day of visiting Americans coping with tragedy.
He will meet with first responders and law enforcement officials in the wake of a mass-shooting on Sunday that left at least 59 victims dead and more than 500 people in area hospitals.
Trump tweeted from aboard Air Force One that he was ‘to pay my respects with @FLOTUS Melania. Everyone remains in our thoughts and prayers.’
The first couple will also meet with some survivors, and speak with doctors who have been treating them.
The president was met on the tarmac by Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo and Gov. Brian Sandoval.
President Donald Trump arrived Wednesday at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport before meeting with shooting victims and first responders who saved lives during Sunday’s gun massacre
Air Force One taxied to a stop with the Mandalay Bay Resort Casino in the background – the building where mass-murderer Stephen Paddock opened fire on a coutry music festival from behind a smashed window
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (left), Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo (center) and Republican Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (right) greeted President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump
Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, who is in charge of the investigation and has been briefing the media on a regular basis, saluted the president when he arrived
On Tuesday the president was consoling other Americans, Puerto Ricans whose island was leveled last month by Hurricane Maria and is still almost entirely without power.
Wednesday’s trip marks his first attempt to console Americans who have lost family members to a horrendous gun massacre.
Trump spoke about Las Vegas shortly before his trip began.
‘Well, it’s a very sad thing. We’re going to pay our respects and to see the police who have done really a fantastic job in a very short time,’ he said as he left the White House.
‘And yeah, they’re learning a lot more. And that’ll be announced at the appropriate time. It’s a very, very sad day for me personally.’
Wednesday marks President Trump’s first experience consoling family members of mass-shooting victims
The president tweeted from aboard his plane that he was going to ‘pay my respects’ along with Melania
Before he left town, the president got some familiar gripes off his chest, blasting the media he derides as ‘fake news.’
‘Wow, so many Fake News stories today. No matter what I do or say, they will not write or speak truth. The Fake News Media is out of control!’ Trump wrote.
In an earlier tweet, he wrote: ‘A great day in Puerto Rico yesterday. While some of the news coverage is Fake, most showed great warmth and friendship.’
The president described the Las Vegas situation briefly aboard Air Force One Tuesday. ”It’s a very horrible thing even to think about,’ Trump said. ‘It’s really horrible.’
President Donald Trump walks past hurricane wreckage as he participates in a walking tour with first lady Melania Trump in Puerto Rico. On Wednesday, he visits Las Vegas to comfort victims of a shooting rampage
Trump began his second consecutive day of visiting Americans coping with tragedy with a shot at ‘Fake’ news
Trump began his second consecutive day of visiting Americans coping with tragedy with a shot at ‘Fake’ news
President Donald Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Las Vegas to visit with victims and first responders affected by the worst mass shooting in American history
During his Tuesday visit, in addition to promising Puerto Ricans the government would be there for them, Trump repeatedly complimented his own disaster efforts, giving himself an ‘A +’ and copiously thanking responders and local officials who have praised him.
Trump told ‘Hannity’ on Fox News Tuesday night that he knows the island ‘very well’ having been there ‘many times.’
‘We have to help. We’ve done a fantastic job. It was. An A + in Texas. An A + in Florida. And we may have done our best work here but it hasn’t been appreciated but actually if you see over the last couple of days, people are seeing what we’ve done,’ Trump said.
ON A ROLL: President Donald Trump tosses paper towels into a crowd as he hands out supplies at Calvary Chapel, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Trump is in Puerto Rico to survey hurricane damage
En route to Puerto Rico Tuesday morning, President Trump lashed out at Las Vegas gunman, identified by authorities as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock.
‘He’s a sick man, a demented man, a lot of problems I guess and we’re looking into him very, very seriously, but we’re dealing with a very sick individual,’ the president said.
Trump also promised reporters ‘we’ll be talking about gun laws as time goes by,’ in the aftermath of Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas.
However, when asked about a particular piece of legislation, which would make it easier for gun owners to purchase silencers, he wasn’t ready to delve into specifics.
‘Well talk about that later,’ Trump told the journalists gathered on the South Lawn of the White House.