WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – President Trump addressed a stunned nation following the mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso over the weekend.
President Trump explicitly pointed to the El Paso suspect’s racist online posts, and said the nation must condemn “racism, bigotry and white supremacy.” He added that “hate has no place in America.”
And while calling for bipartisan solutions to years of mass shootings in America, he did not mention his tweet earlier on Monday regarding stronger gun purchase background checks.
The president said, “These barbaric slaughters are an assault on our communities, an attack on our nation and a crime against all humanity. We are sickened by this monstrous evil, the cruelty, the hatred, the malice, the bloodshed, and the terror. Our hearts are shattered for every family whose parents, children, husbands, and wives were ripped from their arms and their lives. America weeps for the fallen.”
President Trump also addressed the El Paso shooter’s racist writings, saying, “The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate. In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart and devours the soul. We have asked the FBI to identify all further resources they need to investigate and disrupt hate crimes and domestic terrorism, whatever they need.”
He added, “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun.”
“I am open and ready to listen and discuss all ideas that will actually work and make a very big difference,” Trump said. “Republicans and Democrats have proven that we can join together in a bipartisan fashion to address this plague.”
The president said he’s ordering the Department of Justice to pour more resources into detecting potential shooters before they act.
He also called for ending the glorification of violence, including in video games, and supports using the death penalty for those who commit federal hate crimes and mass murder.
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