Trump greeted by ‘Do something’ rally cry in Dayton

DAYTON, Ohio — Pain and anger from the weekend’s mass shooting were visible and audible Wednesday as people in Dayton, Ohio, greeted President Donald Trump’s visit with the city’s new rallying cry: “Do something!”

Trump’s visits to Ohio and Texas , where a combined 31 people were killed and dozens wounded in less than 24 hours over the weekend, were regarded warily by local officials concerned about the often-combative president’s rhetoric while emotions are raw. Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, a Democrat, had questioned the visit and expressed disappointment in the Republican president’s remarks in the shooting’s aftermath that included an erroneous reference to Toledo instead of Dayton.

Some 200 protesters gathered outside Miami Valley Hospital as the president and first lady Melania Trump met with medical staffers. There were smaller demonstrations elsewhere around the city.

Trump’s visit came days after a 24-year-old gunman opened fire early Sunday in the city’s popular Oregon entertainment district, killing nine and injuring 37 before police patrolling the area fatally shot him within 30 seconds of the melee. Authorities said 14 people were treated for gunshot wounds and the other injuries were sustained while people were fleeing the scene. Three people remained hospitalized at Miami Valley Wednesday in stable condition and one person was in fair condition in another hospital.

‘Not Welcome Here’

Holding a sign that said “Not Welcome Here” outside Miami Valley, Lynnell Graham said she thinks Trump’s response to the shootings has been insincere.

Dorothee Bouquet stood in the bright sun with her two young children. She says she told them the protest was “to tell grown-ups to make better rules.”

They also chanted “Do Something!” That chant began as the state’s Republican governor spoke at a Sunday evening vigil.

Ohio Dems gratified by visit

Ohio Democratic officials say they were gratified by Trump’s visit to the Dayton, the scene of a weekend mass shooting, and said Trump was treated respectfully, despite the fact some didn’t agree with his past rhetoric or policies.

Mayor Nan Whaley told reporters she felt those affected by Sunday’s shooting that left nine dead and dozens injured appreciated his visit. She has been critical of Trump’s response to the shootings and had told citizens to feel free to voice their dissatisfaction. Hundreds did so Wednesday in protest of Trump’s visit.

Sen. Sherrod Brown said that while he is “concerned about a president that divides in his rhetoric and plays to race in his rhetoric,” Trump “did the right things” in his visit to survivors in the hospital and first responders. He said that privately, some people told him they weren’t Trump admirers but “showed respect for the office.”

Whaley and Brown said they urged Trump to push gun restrictions in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. Whaley said she bolstered her pitch by noting Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, voted for an assault weapons ban while in Congress.

Betts family statement

Among the Dayton victims of Connor Betts was his 22-year-old sister.

The family of Betts and his sister, Megan Betts, released a statement through police Tuesday night, saying they are devastated and cooperating with law enforcement’s investigation.

It’s unknown whether any of the Dayton victims were targeted. Besides Megan Betts, the others who died were Monica Brickhouse, 39; Nicholas Cumer, 25; Derrick Fudge, 57; Thomas McNichols, 25; Lois Oglesby, 27; Saeed Saleh, 38; Logan Turner, 30; and Beatrice N. Warren-Curtis, 36.

The FBI announced Tuesday it’s opened an investigation into Betts’ desire to commit a mass shooting and his interest in violent ideology.

Defends rhetoric

As he left the White House, Trump defended his rhetoric while strongly criticizing those who say he bears some responsibility for the nation’s divisions, returning to political arguing even as he called for unity.

“My critics are political people,” Trump said, noting the apparent political leanings of the shooter in the Dayton killings and suggesting the man was supportive of Democrats.

“Had nothing to do with President Trump,” Trump said. “So these are people that are looking for political gain.”

He also denied his rhetoric had anything to do with the violence, claiming instead that he “brings people together. Our country is doing incredibly well.”

Unusual predicament

It is a highly unusual predicament for an American president to at once try to unite a community and a nation at the same time he is being criticized as contributing to a combustible climate that can spawn violence.

Some 85% of U.S. adults believe the tone and nature of political debate has become more negative, with a majority saying Trump has changed things for the worse, according to recent Pew Research Center polling.

And more than three quarters, 78%, say that elected officials who use heated or aggressive language to talk about certain people or groups make violence against those people more likely.

Wants a conversation

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Tuesday that Trump also wants “to have a conversation” about ways to head off future deadly episodes.

“We can do something impactful to prevent this from ever happening again, if we come together,” the spokesman said.

That’s a tough assignment for a president who thrives on division and whose aides say he views stoking discord and unease about cultural, economic and demographic changes as key to his reelection.

‘Great appetite’ for background checks

Trump insisted that Congress was making progress on possible new gun legislation. He said he has had “plenty of talks” with lawmakers in recent days and that there is “a great appetite, and I mean a very strong appetite, for background checks.”

But passage of a pending background check bill in the Senate remains unlikely Support for a bipartisan measure reached a high-point with a 2013 vote after the Sandy Hook shooting but it fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance.

Tech firms invited for online extremism talk

The White House is inviting internet and technology companies for a roundtable discussion on violent extremism online.

The meeting to be held on Friday follows a pair of mass shootings that some believe were fueled by online violence and hate.

The White House did not immediately release the names of the companies invited to the meeting, which will be led by White House staff. President Donald Trump is not expected to attend.

Trump this week directed the Justice Department to work with online platforms and state and local governments to “develop tools that can detect mass shooters before they strike.”

Some Republicans have blamed the shootings on video games and internet culture. Democrats point to Trump’s rhetoric as fostering an environment of hate that led to violence.

Some in El Paso don’t want him

In the Texas border city of El Paso, some residents and local Democratic lawmakers said Trump was not welcome and urged him to stay away.

“This president, who helped create the hatred that made Saturday’s tragedy possible, should not come to El Paso,” O’Rourke tweeted. “We do not need more division. We need to heal. He has no place here.”

Trump, on the eve of his El Paso trip, snapped back on Twitter that O’Rourke “should respect the victims & law enforcement - & be quiet!”

In Dayton, Mayor Nan Whaley said she would be meeting with Trump on Wednesday, but she told reporters she was disappointed with his scripted remarks Monday responding to the shootings. His speech included a denunciation of “racism, bigotry and white supremacy” and a declaration that “hate has no place in America.” But he didn’t mention any new efforts to limit sales of certain guns or the anti-immigration rhetoric found in an online screed posted just before the El Paso attack.

The hateful manifesto’s author — police believe it was the shooter but investigation continues — insisted the opinions “predate Trump and his campaign for president.” But the words echoed some of the views Trump has expressed on immigration, Democrats and the media.

Whaley said simply, “Everyone has it in their power to be a force to bring people together, and everybody has it in their power to be a force to bring people apart — that’s up to the president of the United States.”

Biden to be very critical in Iowa speech

Democrats vying to challenge Trump in the 2020 election will also have their say.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the front-runner in the 2020 Democratic primary, is slated to speak on white nationalism later Wednesday in Iowa. According to excerpts from his campaign, Biden will declare Trump “lacks the moral authority to lead” because he has “aligned himself with the darkest forces in our nation” and “in both clear language and in code … has fanned the flames of white supremacy.”

O’Rourke will be addressing an #ElPasoStrong rally Wednesday afternoon that will serve as counterprogramming to Trump’s visit, in addition to attending a morning remembrance and making an evening visit to a makeshift memorial outside the Walmart where a gunman killed 22 people. And New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker will deliver a speech on gun violence and white nationalism at the Charleston, South Carolina, church where nine black parishioners were killed in 2015.

White House and Trump campaign officials have denounced suggestions that Trump’s rhetoric was in any way responsible for the Texas shooting.