Trump news: President fails to propose gun law change after mass shootings, as Obama warns leaders are feeding 'climate of fear'
Two mass shootings left nearly 30 victims dead over the weekend
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Donald Trump referred to the shooting suspects in the El Paso and Dayton gun massacres as “mentally ill monsters”, before naming the wrong US city in Ohio.
The president blamed everything from the press to violent video games while addressing the nation after two gun attacks left nearly 30 victims dead over the weekend.
During the controversial speech on Monday, he called on the US to reject “racism” and “white supremacy,” while failing to address his own incendiary remarks launched against immigrants and his apparent opponents of colour, including Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Elijah Cummings.
Former president Barack Obama denounced the divisive language coming from “American leaders” in a statement posted to his Twitter account. In his first response to the Texas and Ohio shootings, Mr Obama says Americans must “soundly reject language” from any leader who “feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments.”
A shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday killed 22 people, and a second attack outside a bar in Dayton, Ohio, early Sunday killed nine people. Investigators say the suspect in the El Paso massacre posted a racist, anti-immigrant message shortly before the attack.
The statement made by Barack Obama said: “Until all of us stand up and insist on holding public officials accountable for changing our gun laws, these tragedies will keep happening.”
In his address to the nation, Donald Trump said America “must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” adding that the FBI would investigate “hate crimes and domestic terrorism.”
Pressure is meanwhile mounting on Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell to recall the upper chamber of Congress from its summer recess to finally vote on a universal background checks bill that was passed by the House of Representatives in February.
US stocks plunged to their worst loss of the year Monday, as investors’ fears over Donald Trump’s trade war impact the market.
Catch-up on events as they happened
Donald Trump has called the attacks over the weekend as "evil," describing the shooter in the El Paso, Texas as "a wicked man" who shot "precious little children."
The president referred to the Dayton, Ohio shooter as a "wicked monster" who killed "his own sister" when he shot multiple victims in a street on Sunday.
Donald Trump called the attacks a "crime against all humanity."
"We are outraged and sickened," he added.
"Together we lock arms to shoulder the grief," Donald Trump said. "We vow to act with urgent resolve."
The president is thanking the first responders in Ohio and Texas.
"In one voice our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy," the president said.
Trump says people convicted of hate crimes will face the death penalty
The president says the country must address the violent culture in the US, drawing particular attention to video games
Trump says the nation must condemn bigotry, racism and white supremacy.
The president says mental health laws must be reformed in order to identify "mentally disturbed individuals" and says they may be subject to involuntary confinement.
The president also said that he had directed the Department of Justice to work with social media companies to detect mass shooters before they strike. The El Paso killer is believed to have posted a hate-filled manifesto online before the massacre, although it was anonymous, did not identify the exact target and was published less than an hour before the shooting began.
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