Trump is met by hundreds of protesters in Dayton mocking speech and calling for tighter gun control

President Donald Trump was greeted in Ohio by placards that read ‘Dump Trump’ and ‘You are why’ following the mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso, Texas over the weekend.

Protesters on Wednesday pushed for stricter gun control as they stood next to a giant baby Trump blimp, like ones that have appeared at previous protests, demanding the American leader ‘stop being a baby’ and stand up to the NRA’ as he began a quick tour to console those affected and congratulate police for how they handled events. 

Even as critics and protesters accused him of inflaming tensions with anti-immigrant and racially-charged rhetoric, Trump visited survivors, first responders and staff at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where nine people and the suspect were killed in a rampage early on Sunday.

Dozens of protesters outside the hospital declared they are #DaytonStrong, instructed the president to ‘Do Something’ and ‘Save our city,’ all why declaring about the attacks: ‘You are why.’ 

Demonstrators protest the visit of US President Donald Trump to the site of the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, on August 7. Nine people were killed on August 4 in the city’s popular Oregon District

US President Donald Trump arrives at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to visit mass shooting sites in Dayton, Ohio

US President Donald Trump arrives at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to visit mass shooting sites in Dayton, Ohio

Some signs mocked his geography blunder in response to the attack which he accidentally said occurred in Toledo

Some signs mocked his geography blunder in response to the attack which he accidentally said occurred in Toledo

Protesters gather around a baby Trump balloon to voice their rally against gun violence and a visit

Protesters gather around a baby Trump balloon to voice their rally against gun violence and a visit

Trump later planned to visit the Texas city of El Paso, on the border with Mexico, where 22 people were killed at a Walmart store on Saturday by a 21-year-old man who had posted an anti-immigrant manifesto online.

The mayors of both cities were calling for the president to change the way he talks about immigrants. 

Multiple protests were planned, and Democratic presidential candidates continued to criticize him, including Beto O’Rourke, who said he would address a counter-rally in his home town of El Paso during the president’s visit.  

White House officials said the visits would be similar to those he’s paid to grieving communities in the past, with the Republican president and the first lady saluting first responders and spending time with mourning families and survivors.

‘We’ll be meeting with first responders, law enforcement and some of the victims and paying my respects and regards,’ Trump said Wednesday morning. ‘It’s a terrific opportunity, really, to congratulate some of the police and law enforcement. The job they’ve done was incredible. Really incredible.’

Trump was seen standing behind his vehicle after arriving to carry out his duties as the American leader on Wednesday

Trump was seen standing behind his vehicle after arriving to carry out his duties as the American leader on Wednesday

Demonstrators chant as they protest the arrival of President Donald Trump outside Miami Valley Hospital after a mass shooting that occurred in the Oregon District early Sunday morning

Demonstrators chant as they protest the arrival of President Donald Trump outside Miami Valley Hospital after a mass shooting that occurred in the Oregon District early Sunday morning

Protesters younger and older were seen on the streets of Dayton as Trump visited those affected by the tragedies

Protesters younger and older were seen on the streets of Dayton as Trump visited those affected by the tragedies

A woman gestures as US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump leave Miami Valley Hospital after meeting with first responders, hospital staff, victims and their families

A woman gestures as US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump leave Miami Valley Hospital after meeting with first responders, hospital staff, victims and their families

Demonstrators stand outside Miami Valley Hospital where President Donald Trump met with people affected

Demonstrators stand outside Miami Valley Hospital where President Donald Trump met with people affected

The motorcade of US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump leaves Miami Valley Hospital

The motorcade of US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump leaves Miami Valley Hospital

A group of people stand outside the Miami Valley Hospital, as President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are inside

A group of people stand outside the Miami Valley Hospital, as President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are inside

Police block the street as demonstrators protest the arrival of President Donald Trump outside Miami Valley Hospital

Police block the street as demonstrators protest the arrival of President Donald Trump outside Miami Valley Hospital

But residents were clear about how they felt after the back-to-back massacres, occurring 13 hours apart, as expressed through signs that read, ‘Enough is enough’ and ‘End this terror’. 

As the national debate over gun safety reopens protesters in Dayton heckled Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, at a vigil for the shooting victims with chants of ‘Do something!’ 

But as he left the White House, Trump said he wanted to strengthen background checks for gun purchases and make sure mentally ill people did not carry guns,opting for less drastic moves to save lives. He predicted congressional support for those two measures but not for banning assault rifles.

‘I can tell you that there is no political appetite for that at this moment,’ Trump told reporters at the White House. ‘But I will certainly bring that up … There is a great appetite, and I mean a very strong appetite, for background checks.’

It resulted in crowds holding up placards reading ‘just say no to fascism’. A clever image of Trump’s hair in the shape of a firearm, declared: ‘stop gun violence.’

Referring to Trump’s 2016 declaration he would ‘drain the swamp’, one placard read: ‘Drain YOUR swamp’.

People gather near Miami Valley Hospital in protest, Wednesday, saying Trump should 'step down' and 'do something'

People gather near Miami Valley Hospital in protest, Wednesday, saying Trump should ‘step down’ and ‘do something’

A little girl held up names of victims as Trump visited Dayton days after the shooting attack took lives

A little girl held up names of victims as Trump visited Dayton days after the shooting attack took lives

Those opposed to the president's message lined the streets and warned others 'vote or die'

Those opposed to the president’s message lined the streets and warned others ‘vote or die’

One sign, seen right, read 'tell Putin to tell Mitch to "Hold the vote"'. Another, left, mocked Trump's blunder after he called Dayton Toledo

One sign, seen right, read ‘tell Putin to tell Mitch to “Hold the vote”‘. Another, left, mocked Trump’s blunder after he called Dayton Toledo

More optimistic messages among chanters asserted: ‘We can end gun violence’ and ‘Everytown for gun safety’. 

 Mr Trump defended his rhetoric while strongly criticizing those who say he bears some responsibility for the nation’s divisions, returning to political arguing even as he called for unity.

‘My critics are political people,’ Mr Trump said, noting the apparent political leanings of the gunman in the Dayton killings and suggesting the man was supportive of Democrats.

In Dayton, Trump was greeted at the airport by a bipartisan group of state and local officials, including Democratic Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, who had said she would welcome Trump but planned to tell him he had been ‘unhelpful’ on the issue of gun violence.

Critics have said Trump stokes violence with racially incendiary rhetoric. The El Paso massacre is being investigated as a hate crime and the FBI said the Dayton shooter had explored violent ideologies.

On Monday, Trump gave a speech focusing on mental health reforms, tighter internet regulation and wider use of the death penalty. Democrats accuse Trump of hiding behind talk of mental illness and the influence of social media rather than committing to laws they insist are needed to restrict gun ownership and the types of weapons that are legal.

Demonstrators greet the motorcade of Trump as it passes by before visiting the site of a mass shooting in Dayton

Demonstrators greet the motorcade of Trump as it passes by before visiting the site of a mass shooting in Dayton

A clever image of Trump's hair in the shape of a firearm, declared: 'Stop gun violence'

A clever image of Trump’s hair in the shape of a firearm, declared: ‘Stop gun violence’

Referring to Trump's 2016 declaration he would 'drain the swamp', one placard read: 'Drain YOUR swamp'

Referring to Trump’s 2016 declaration he would ‘drain the swamp’, one placard read: ‘Drain YOUR swamp’ 

More optimistic messages among chanters asserted: 'We can end gun violence' and 'Everytown for gun safety'

More optimistic messages among chanters asserted: ‘We can end gun violence’ and ‘Everytown for gun safety’ 

Demonstrators protest as US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at Miami Valley Hospital

Demonstrators protest as US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at Miami Valley Hospital

In Iowa, Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden planned to say in a campaign speech, ‘We have a president with a toxic tongue who has publicly and unapologetically embraced a political strategy of hate, racism, and division.’

In a sign of higher tensions after the shootings, a motorcycle backfiring on Tuesday night in New York’s Times Square sent crowds running for fear of another gun attack. ‘People are obviously very frightened,’ New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told CNN.

Authorities in Texas have said they are investigating Saturday’s shooting spree in the predominantly Hispanic west Texas border city of El Paso as a hate crime and an act of domestic terrorism. They cited a racist manifesto posted online shortly before the shooting, which they attributed to the suspect.

An open letter to Trump on Wednesday in the El Paso Times described the border city as having ‘a deep tradition of racial harmony’ whose people came together after the tragedy. It admonished Trump for calling El Paso one of the country’s most dangerous cities in his February State of the Union address.

‘The violence that pierced El Paso, drawing you here today, is not of our own community,’ wrote editor Tim Archuleta. ‘An outsider came here to shatter our city, to murder our neighbors. A white man from another Texas city came to target the more than 80% of us who share Hispanic roots.’

Trump, in his televised White House speech on Monday, condemned ‘sinister ideologies’ and hate. His supporters say Democrats unfairly blame him for the behavior of criminals.

Democrats say Trump’s own anti-immigrant, racially charged language at rallies and on Twitter has done much to fan racist, white nationalist sentiments, creating a political climate more conducive to hate-based violence.

U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose congressional district includes El Paso, declared that Trump ‘is not welcome here.’

Trump staged his first political rally of 2019 in El Paso in February.

She said on Twitter on Tuesday she declined a White House invitation to join Trump in El Paso after being told he was too busy to speak with her by phone in advance. ‘I refuse to be an accessory to his visit,’ Escobar later told CNN.

Former Texas congressman and El Paso native Beto O’Rourke, who is seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination for president, said Trump ‘helped create the hatred that made Saturday’s tragedy possible’ and thus ‘has no place here.’

In an apparent answer to his criticism, Trump said on Twitter late on Tuesday O’Rourke ‘should respect the victims & law enforcement – & be quiet!’

Not everyone agreed that Trump should stay away.

US President Donald Trump, with US First Lady Melania Trump, boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland

US President Donald Trump, with US First Lady Melania Trump, boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland

‘This is not a political visit,’ El Paso Mayor Dee Margo told reporters. ‘He is president of the United States. So in that capacity, I will fulfill my obligations as mayor of El Paso to meet with the president and discuss whatever our needs are in this community.’    

Trump had said before boarding his flight that his ‘critics are political people’. Trump claimed suggested the man responsible for the Dayton shootings was supportive of Democrats.

But some 85% of U.S. adults believe the tone and nature of political debate has become more negative, with a majority saying Trump has changed things for the worse, according to recent Pew Research Center polling.

And more than three quarters, 78%, say that elected officials who use heated or aggressive language to talk about certain people or groups make violence against those people more likely.

He denied his rhetoric had anything to do with the violence, claiming instead that he ‘brings people together. Our country is doing incredibly well.’ 

The leader said it ‘had nothing to do with President Trump’. He added about those who had criticized his style of leadership: ‘So these are people that are looking for political gain.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk