POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump has made a grim trip to a Florida community reeling from a deadly school shooting, meeting privately with victims and cheering the heroics of first responders.
But he extended few public words of consolation to those in deep mourning, nor did Trump address the debate over gun violence that has raged since a 19-year-old gunman killed 17 and injured 14 others.
Two days after the shooting, Trump visited Broward Health North Hospital Friday, where he saw two victims and praised the doctors and nurses for their “incredible” job. With his wife Melania, he also paid his respects to law enforcement officials in Fort Lauderdale, telling officers he hoped they were “getting the credit” they deserved.
“I was at the hospital with a lot of parents and they are really thankful for the job you’ve done,” Trump said at the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, where he was joined by Gov. Rick Scott, Sen. Marco Rubio and other Florida officials. He added that the young victims were in “really great shape” considering what they have been through.
In a tweet Saturday, he said that he and the first lady “met such incredible people last night in Broward County, Florida. Will never forget them, or the evening!” The president later placed calls of condolence and support to Parkland’s mayor, a Broward County commissioner and the school’s principal.
Trump did allude to gun laws in a different tweet Saturday, accusing congressional Democrats of not favoring new gun laws: “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. Because they didn’t want to, and now they just talk!”
Never a natural at consolation, the president seemed more at ease extending hearty thanks to first responders, marveling at the speed with which they rushed the wounded to the hospital and quipping that they deserved a raise. He had less to say to the grief and sorrow gripping a shocked community and nation after the deadliest school shooting since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
Asked if he’d talked with victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Trump added: “I did indeed, and it’s very sad something like that could happen.”
Trump spoke privately with two victims, a boy and a girl, at the hospital. At the Sheriff’s Office, he also met Detective Richard Olson and his son, Will Olson, who was shot during the attack. Trump spoke about the girl he met with, saying she had been shot four times, and that first responders had helped save her life by getting her quickly to the hospital.
Late Friday, he tweeted about the school shooting: “Our entire Nation, w/one heavy heart, continues to pray for the victims & their families in Parkland, FL. To teachers, law enforcement, first responders & medical professionals who responded so bravely in the face of danger: We THANK YOU for your courage!” He included pictures of the injured young girl and her family that he and the first lady visited.
Speaking directly to the raw emotions was Rubio, who told Trump, “This is a community and a state that’s in deep pain and they want action to make sure this never happens again.”
Trump replied: “You can count on it.”
Still, the president made no policy statements. An avid supporter of the National Rifle Association, he did not mention the renewed debate over gun violence, ignoring a shouted question about gun laws. Trump tweeted earlier Friday that he was “working with Congress on many fronts,” though he offered no details.
Trump said he originally planned to visit the Parkland area on Sunday or Monday, but decided he didn’t want to wait. But as Trump arrived in Florida, some of the parents, survivors and others affected by the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School said they were more interested in firm action to prevent future assaults than a presidential visit.
“I don’t want Trump to come, but we want more gun safety,” said 18-year-old Kevin Trejos, a senior at the school. “It’s a dream. It hasn’t hit me yet. When I see empty desks, I’ll feel it. I’m numb now.”
More than 1,000 people had attended a candlelight vigil Thursday night near the school, and at one point some began chanting, “No more guns! No more guns!”
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Thomas reported from Washington. AP writers Jon Lemire in New York, Zeke Miller in Washington and Josh Replogle in Parkland, Fla., contributed to this report.
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Follow Lucey on Twitter at http://twitter.com/catherine—lucey and Thomas at http://twitter.com/KThomasDC
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Link to Trump tweet on hospital visit: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/964724390637244417
