US President Donald Trump will address his nation on Monday after two shootings left 29 people dead and sparked accusations that his rhetoric was part of the problem.
Although he will speak at 14.00GMT, Trump may already have given hints on what he will tell Americans in several tweets on Monday morning.
In one tweet, he accused the ‘fake media’ of contributing to the killings. In another he asked for a bipartisan collaboration to enact a strong gun law. But he tied the law with reaching consensus on immigration reforms.
We cannot let those killed in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, die in vain. Likewise for those so seriously wounded. We can never forget them, and those many who came before them. Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks, perhaps marrying….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2019
The rampages turned innocent snippets of everyday life into nightmares of bloodshed: 20 people were shot dead while shopping at a crowded Walmart in El Paso, Texas on Saturday morning, and nine more outside a bar in a popular nightlife district in Dayton, Ohio just 13 hours later.
Following the shootings, Trump said “hate has no place in our country,” but he also blamed mental illness for the violence.
“These are really people that are very, very seriously mentally ill,” he said, despite the fact that police have not confirmed this to be the case.
“We have to get it stopped. This has been going on for years… and years in our country,” he said.
