Patterico's Pontifications

8/5/2019

President Trump: Remarks on the Weekend’s Mass Shootings

Filed under: General — Dana @ 8:52 am



[guest post by Dana]

In the early hours this morning, President Trump made his first comments about the mass shootings this weekend, suggesting legislation tie immigration reform and gun control together:

Untitled

Just a short while ago, Trump made a statement from the White House about El Paso and Dayton in which he condemned white supremacy (beginning at the 41:16 mark):

From The New York Times:

President Trump forcefully condemned white supremacy in the wake of twin mass shootings over the weekend, citing the threat of “racist hate” and calling for national unity in devising a response.

“In one voice our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” Mr. Trump said. [“These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America”]

[…]

“These barbaric slaughters are an assault upon our communities, an attack upon our nation and a crime against all of humanity,” Mr. Trump said.

Trump did not specifically address measures that gun control advocates argue are needed:

But Mr. Trump stopped well short of supporting the kind of broad gun control measures that activists and Democrats have sought for years, instead calling for stronger action to address mental illness, violence in the media and in video games, as well as “the perils of the internet and social media.”

Trump also called for laws that would ensure that those “judged a grave risk to public safety do not have access to firearms”. He also made this declaration: “Mental illness pulls the trigger, not the gun.”

Moreover:

Trump called for law enforcement and social media companies to do more to combat extremism and spot warning signs of violence online. He also called for a reduction in the “glorification” of violence in American culture, laws to make it easier to commit those with mental illness and “red flag laws” to separate such individuals from firearms.

Trump also directed the Department of Justice to seek and prioritize the enforcement of the death penalty in cases of hate crimes and mass shootings.

Trump’s remarks from the White House this morning did not echo his earlier tweets suggesting legislation tying together strong background checks with immigration reform.

[Ed. As this point, the White House has still not provided the full text of the president’s remarks.]

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

39 Responses to “President Trump: Remarks on the Weekend’s Mass Shootings”

  1. Good morning.

    Dana (fdf131)

  2. Interested to see how these broad Ideas are put into law. My guess is that they won’t be.

    Time123 (797615)

  3. Said with all the sincerity of a hostage.

    Rip Murdock (ed5491)

  4. I noticed he bragged about banning bump stocks.

    MasterBaker (bcae7b)

  5. “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” said the bigot.
    I share Trump’s compassion for the suffering people of Toledo. Dayton, too.
    That said, Trump has a point about mental illness. If you go through this helpful list, around 70% of mass shooters had some sort of mental illness, so sensible red flag legislation makes sense.
    Blaming video games for mass shootings doesn’t make sense.
    I think we can pass legislation to limit clip sizes. The Dayton shooter had two 100-round clips. The Tucson shooter had a 30-round clip and was only stopped because he was reloading.
    I think we can pass legislation for more thorough background checks.
    Finally, the “well-regulated” clause of the 2nd Amendment should get more attention, IMO. If someone wants to buy an AR-15, for example, then he should get proper training and should pass a test to ensure that he’s mentally competent. If he doesn’t pass training and testing, then he doesn’t get the AR-15 but can still get something less lethal, thus his rights are not denied.

    Paul Montagu (35419a)

  6. A plain reading of the Second Amendment doesn’t have any exceptions. Before it was incorporated against the states they at least had the ability to implement regulations, now that has been foreclosed.

    Rip Murdock (ed5491)

  7. My unpopular opinion: I see a disconnect between Trump blaming video game/internet violence while he cozies up to authoritarians and thugs who approve of inflicting violence on others, and in some cases, publicly sanction its use on innocent individuals.

    Dana (fdf131)

  8. Dana, it looks less to me like a disconnect than an attempt to change the subject.

    Time123 (d1bf33)

  9. No. It’s definitely an attempt to change the subject or at the very least, to look like they’re trying to “do something!!”.

    whembly (fd57f6)

  10. I dunno. I don’t think it’s a bad statement. I don’t think it’s bad at all. For a statement. Words aren’t really worth very much when people die senselessly and untimely.

    nk (dbc370)

  11. This:

    Morning tweets that were done over the objection of some staff members, and which underscore the possibility that he will tweet something in the next 12 hours that undercuts the remarks he just gave.

    Dana (fdf131)

  12. Nk,

    While the speech was what it should have been, I think Trump will remain in a no-win position. If he hadn’t directly condemned white supremacy there would have been a loud outcry. And now that he has finally done so, it’s not enough. He set these wheels in motion. He alone.

    Dana (fdf131)

  13. Video games.

    ‘Kay.

    More slaughterhouse jive. Cross this off today’s White House ‘to do’ list. What’s for dinner– cheeseburgers with ice cream or ice cream with cheeseburgers?

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  14. Trump was accused of calling Nazis and white supremacists ‘fine people’ when he said he wasn’t talking about Nazis and white supremacists.

    “I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and white nationalists because they should be condemned totally.”

    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/03/21/trump_didnt_call_neo-nazis_fine_people_heres_proof_139815.html

    I’ve seen this smear repeated over and over.

    He’s being blamed again for the recent shootings.

    harkin (92ce59)

  15. Harkin,
    I listened to that speech about Charleston. My take away was not that he was slamming the white nationalists, it was that he was trying to say that in addition to the bad neo-nazi there were fine people that agreed with their goals in that situation.

    He’s being criticized because he says things that de-humanize brown people. He says things that strongly imply non-whites aren’t really Americans. He says and does things that encourage violence against his opponents. He does this passionately, animatedly, and frequently. When he criticizes white nationalists he does so grudgingly sparingly and in a totally different voice.

    Time123 (89dfb2)

  16. Dana, He could get out of this ‘trap’ in 2 weeks if he spent the same time and energy attacking white nationalists that he has his political enemies.

    Time123 (89dfb2)

  17. @5. The ‘well-regulated militia’ bit is usually clipped by today’s right-wing, anti-government, the-sun-stood-still-in-the-sky-Bible-and gun-hugging-crowd. [There’s a pun in there someplace.] A thought quilled on parchment 230 years ago which made sense for the context of those times, when, per wikipatriot, ‘most male citizens of the American colonies were required by law to own arms and ammunition for militia duty.’ A time when the most common and advanced hand-held firearm was a single shot, muzzle-loaded, ‘Brown Bess’ flintlock musket, nearly five foot long, weighing over 10 lbs., accurate to between one and three hundred yards, depending on the user, and for the experienced marksmen, took at least a minute to reload between each shot. A time when there were slaveowners buying and selling human beings, sipped warm ale from lead-pewter tankards, eating squirrel stew, wearing pantaloons and powdered wigs; used leeches for doctoring, peed behind trees and pooped in a hole out back.

    We’ve let those times behind. No need to hunt squirrel; we have grocery stores now. And w/an $800 billion annual military budget and $14 billion aircraft carriers, militias are quaintly obsolete; we’ll soon have a Space Force!!! [And maybe, finally, sharks with friggin’ laser beams attached to their heads, too!!]

    This isn’t about constitutional crap; it’s about basic of common sense for domestic tranquility. And if the Founders were alive to see this idiotic carnage and the contorted rationalizations they’d be horrified by the extreme stupidity and ignorance on display. Though Franklin would be fascinated with all things electric– particularly TeeVee.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  18. People do terrible things. Using these mass murders as political fodder is despicable. It has become the center piece of the democrat attack machine. Of course, since the Russia Collusion has been proven false, the dems are left with there oh-so-banal racism accusations. It’s the same attacks that were made against every Republican since LBJ’s Great Society, when racism was the defacto standard of the democrat party.

    jason stewart (db9732)

  19. LA Times:

    We have studied every mass shooting since 1966. Here’s what we’ve learned about the shooters

    “First, the vast majority of mass shooters in our study experienced early childhood trauma and exposure to violence at a young age. The nature of their exposure included parental suicide, physical or sexual abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and/or severe bullying. The trauma was often a precursor to mental health concerns, including depression, anxiety, thought disorders or suicidality.

    Second, practically every mass shooter we studied had reached an identifiable crisis point in the weeks or months leading up to the shooting. They often had become angry and despondent because of a specific grievance. For workplace shooters, a change in job status was frequently the trigger. For shooters in other contexts, relationship rejection or loss often played a role. Such crises were, in many cases, communicated to others through a marked change in behavior, an expression of suicidal thoughts or plans, or specific threats of violence.

    Third, most of the shooters had studied the actions of other shooters and sought validation for their motives. People in crisis have always existed. But in the age of 24-hour rolling news and social media, there are scripts to follow that promise notoriety in death. Societal fear and fascination with mass shootings partly drives the motivation to commit them. Hence, as we have seen in the last week, mass shootings tend to come in clusters. They are socially contagious. Perpetrators study other perpetrators and model their acts after previous shootings. Many are radicalized online in their search for validation from others that their will to murder is justified.

    Fourth, the shooters all had the means to carry out their plans. Once someone decides life is no longer worth living and that murdering others would be a proper revenge, only means and opportunity stand in the way of another mass shooting. Is an appropriate shooting site accessible? Can the would-be shooter obtain firearms? In 80% of school shootings, perpetrators got their weapons from family members, according to our data. Workplace shooters tended to use handguns they legally owned. Other public shooters were more likely to acquire them illegally.”

    https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-08-04/el-paso-dayton-gilroy-mass-shooters-data?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

    Still digesting this but seems fairly objective.

    harkin (92ce59)

  20. Harkin, thank you for that link.

    Time123 (d1bf33)

  21. Good link Harkin.

    Dustin (6d7686)

  22. That is good. Thank you.

    DRJ (15874d)

  23. Second, practically every mass shooter we studied had reached an identifiable crisis point in the weeks or months leading up to the shooting. They often had become angry and despondent because of a specific grievance. For workplace shooters, a change in job status was frequently the trigger. For shooters in other contexts, relationship rejection or loss often played a role. Such crises were, in many cases, communicated to others through a marked change in behavior, an expression of suicidal thoughts or plans, or specific threats of violence.

    This would indicate that other people around the mass shooter would have been aware, to some degree, that something had changed in their behavior/life. Unless one has been completely isolated, there would have at least been a family member or acquaintance, or even a student or co-worker who may not have personally known the individual per se but nonetheless observed a change in behavior/response. IOW, something visible and out of the ordinary became observable.

    Dana (fdf131)

  24. This indicates that other people around the mass shooter would have been aware, to some degree, that something had changed in their behavior/life. Unless one is completely isolated, there would have at least been a family member or acquaintance, or even a student or co-worker who didn’t the individual per se but simply observed a change in behavior/response. IOW, something out of the ordinary.

    That may be so, but lots of people experience changes of mood and behavior for all kinds of reasons and don’t go on a mass shooting. So are we now supposed to report anyone who looks down or acts differently than they did before?

    Bored Lawyer (998177)

  25. If they talk about suicide or threaten violence, yes.

    DRJ (15874d)

  26. Harkin, shame on you for bringing facts to an argument!

    Re the Second Amendment…the term well regulated applied to militias, not weapons or their owners. And the intent was to obviate any need for a “standing army”. What exactly would the Founders think of our present massive police and military establishments?

    Kishnevi (546427)

  27. 23-25
    It seems more than a few people “saw something” and “said something” regarding the Parkland shooter, only to have the responsible authorities totally mess up.

    Kishnevi (546427)

  28. That may be so, but lots of people experience changes of mood and behavior for all kinds of reasons and don’t go on a mass shooting. So are we now supposed to report anyone who looks down or acts differently than they did before?

    Bored Lawyer (998177) — 8/5/2019 @ 1:40 pm

    Most people with mental illness or red flag behavior aren’t going to kill a bunch of people. But they need to be pulled back into the fold. The outrageous comments and fascination with white supremacy or mass murder are just examples of isolating behavior. But any isolating behavior, by definition, makes it harder to pull people back into the fold. Other indicators include hygiene falling off a cliff, so it’s easy for cliques to cast out the smelly weirdo.

    Pull them back into the fold. If it’s a classmate or office mate, buy them coffee. Talk to them about the loss (relationship or otherwise). Let them know you give a crap about them. help them access some pro help. this is the internet so I’m bound to be mocked for this, but getting some help with something like this can get someone back on track.

    If, over coffee, they really are obsessed with the details of Sandy Hook and bought 4 cases of ammo, yeah you need to call the cops. If, over coffee, they thank you for being a friend and go get some therapy, you just were part of a community (which is a big part of the puzzle these days).

    Just my $0.02.

    Dustin (6d7686)

  29. If you’ve obsessed over immigration facilities, after what not only Cortez but general Hayden, you might want to cool off.

    Narciso (72d34b)

  30. “Well regulated” in those days meant: ‘in good/proper working order’:

    “The following are taken from the Oxford English Dictionary, and bracket in time the writing of the 2nd amendment:

    1709: “If a liberal Education has formed in us well-regulated Appetites and worthy Inclinations.”

    1714: “The practice of all well-regulated courts of justice in the world.”

    1812: “The equation of time … is the adjustment of the difference of time as shown by a well-regulated clock and a true sun dial.”

    1848: “A remissness for which I am sure every well-regulated person will blame the Mayor.”

    1862: “It appeared to her well-regulated mind, like a clandestine proceeding.”

    1894: “The newspaper, a never wanting adjunct to every well-regulated American embryo city.””

    http://constitution.org/cons/wellregu.htm
    _

    harkin (58d012)

  31. There isn’t much law enforcement can do if someone calls and says a friend or family member is acting strange, but law enforcement may be able to offer help if someone has threatened suicide or violence. Maybe.

    I think we want it that way. We don’t want the police showing up just because someone was worried we were acting strange.

    DRJ (15874d)

  32. I didn’t realize that the El Paso shooter’s father is a mental health worker. And that’s not all:

    Imagine the shock for father and daughter when they learned her twin brother Patrick Crusius had been identified by police as the gunman and arrested for Friday’s horrific carnage in El Paso. The added twist is that the twins’ mother is a registered nurse such as those who tended the wounded —a 4-month-old baby, a 2-year-old, and a 9-year-old among them—at two local hospitals.

    Dana (fdf131)

  33. I read about that. His father seems to have issues himself.

    DRJ (15874d)

  34. Sure but the founders clearly tied the 2A to the security of the State. That will forever color the way we debate the issue, and will ensure that the issue will always be debated.

    JRH (52aed3)

  35. as opposed to individual security.

    JRH (52aed3)

  36. like the Charleston shooter, or the one in parkland, or the ones in ohio, well you get the notion,

    narciso (d1f714)


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