President Donald Trump took to Twitter Saturday to blame Democrats for failing to address gun control during the eight years President Obama was in office.
He took to Twitter to avert any blame and gloat that the opposition party couldn’t pass any gun laws, accusing Democrats of using the issue as a political talking point.
‘Just like they don’t want to solve the DACA problem, why didn’t the Democrats pass gun control legislation when they had both the House & Senate during the Obama Administration,’ he wrote Saturday evening.
‘Because they didn’t want to, and now they just talk!’
This was the first time the president has addressed the issue of gun control since Wednesday’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, and came just hours after a rally where thousands of students, parents, teachers and politicians called on Trump and the Republican party to pass new gun restrictions.
Trump took to Twitter to avert any blame and gloat that the opposition party couldn’t pass any gun laws, accusing Democrats of using the issue as a political talking point
‘Just like they don’t want to solve the DACA problem, why didn’t the Democrats pass gun control legislation when they had both the House & Senate during the Obama Administration,’ he wrote Saturday evening
This was the first time the president has addressed the issue of gun control since Wednesday’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Trump is pictured Friday visiting a trauma surgeon at a Florida Hospital where many victims are recovering
It also came just hours after a rally where thousands of students, parents, teachers and politicians called on Trump and the Republican party to pass new gun restrictions
The attack left 17 dead and 14 injured after accused gunman Nikolas Cruz entered the high school with an AR-15 Wednesday afternoon and opened fire on students and faculty members.
The attack left 17 dead and 14 injured after accused gunman Nikolas Cruz entered the high school with an AR-15 Wednesday afternoon and opened fire on students and faculty members
Before Saturday’s tweet, Trump hadn’t spoken about gun control at all, instead offering thoughts and prayers and touching on the shooter’s alleged mental illness.
Just after the attack Trump tweeted to suggest that the 19-year-old attacker was ‘mentally disturbed’ and said more people should have alerted authorities.
‘So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior,’ Trump tweeted.
‘Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!’
But during Saturday’s rally, survivor and student Emma Gonzalez pointed out that students did report him ‘again and again’.
‘It was no surprise to anyone who knew him to her that he was the shooter,’ Gonzalez said through tears.
She directly addressed Trump during her speech, demanding to know how much the NRA had donated to his campaign. During the presidential election, the gunowners’ rights group pumped $31 million into ads supporting Trump and attacking his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
Gonzalez also reminded the president that in February 2017 he repealed an Obama-era regulation that made it more difficult for people with mental illness to purchase firearms.
Just after the attack Trump tweeted to suggest that the 19-year-old attacker was ‘mentally disturbed’ and said more people should have alerted authorities. He is pictured with workers at the hospital where many victims are being treated
But during Saturday’s rally, survivor and student Emma Gonzalez pointed out that students did report him ‘again and again’
After Saturday’s emotional anti-gun rally in Florida, CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeted to invite President Trump to a live town hall the network is hosting with parents and students from Stoneman Douglas High School
That law came after the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012. Obama aggressively pushed for new gun restrictions after the shooting, announcing a sreies of executive actions intended to strengthen gun control.
He also urged congress to pass legislation and address the matter.
In 2013 two gun control measures failed to pass. the first was a ban on assault weapons, proposed by California’s Dianne Feinstein. The second called for universal background checks, introduced by Senators Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey, a democrat and a republican, respectively.
But Republicans have had control of the House of Representatives since 2011, and regained control of the Senate in 2014, making it difficult for any further legislation to pass.
After Saturday’s emotional anti-gun rally in Florida, CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeted to invite President Trump to a live town hall the network is hosting with parents and students from Stoneman Douglas High School.
The network announced it will air ‘Stand Up: The Students of Stoneman Douglas Demand Action’ on Wednesday following calls from students demanding lawmakers take action.
CNN has invited Trump, Florida Governor Rick Scott, Florida Senators Marco Ruio and Bill Nelson, and Representative Ted Deutch.
Governor Rick Scott has said he plans to talk to legislative leaders in the coming week about what could be done to make it harder for people who are mentally ill to purchase a gun.