Donald Trump blasted for tweet appearing to 'blame' classmates of Florida shooting suspect
"I'd like to report a mentally ill person in the Oval Office" was a common reaction to the president's tweet.
US President Donald Trump has been criticised for his latest tweet in reaction to the Florida mass school shooting which left 17 people dead and 15 injured, after it appeared to blame the suspect's neighbours and classmates for not stopping him.
Trump initially tweeted one hour and 20 minutes after the shooting, which took place at 2.30pm local time (7.30pm GMT) at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Wednesday (14 February). He wrote: "My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school."
Five minutes later, he added: "Just spoke to Governor Rick Scott. We are working closely with law enforcement on the terrible Florida school shooting."
A Marjory Stoneman Douglas student named Sarah took objection with his words, writing on Twitter: "I don't want your condolences you f**king price of s**t, my friends and teachers were shot. Multiple of my fellow classmates are dead. Do something instead of sending prayers. Prayers won't fix this. But Gun control will prevent it from happening again."
After waking up on Thursday morning, Trump had some more controversial thoughts to share on the tragedy. At 7.12am (12.12pm GMT), he tweeted: "So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!" Bizarrely, the tweet was linked to a seemingly unrelated post about DACA immigration negotiations.
The tweet upset some people who said it appeared to blame suspect Nikolas Cruz's classmates for not reporting him enough. Cruz was expelled from the high school last year for disciplinary reasons.
Are you blaming neighbors and classmates? You are disgusting.
— JD (@KathysDaughter5) February 15, 2018
Yes, let's blame others. Good call moron.
— Matt Green (@MatthewGreen09) February 15, 2018
You're a terrible, soulless prick. Kids have yet again been shot up on your watch but you feel the need to tell them they should be more diligent in reporting odd behaviour. This isn't a debate to be won, a position to be - defended your nation is killing itself
— Carmine Moscaritolo (@CarmMoscaritolo) February 15, 2018
Some mocked Trump by saying they would report him for appearing mentally disturbed himself. One Twitter user wrote: "I'd like to report a mentally ill person in the Oval Office."
I'd like to report to the authorities an unstable person, who i believe might be dangerous, his address is The White house 1600 Pennsylvania Ave
— Grant (@grouty99) February 15, 2018
I’d like to report you. To whom do I address this?
— Jason Governale (@JGovernale) February 15, 2018
Hey AUTHORITIES, I am reporting Donald Trump. Get him out of office so we can talk about gun violence, GUN control, mental health issues.
— Joanne Graves (@JoanneGraves63) February 15, 2018
Many also pointed out that Trump could shoulder some of the blame himself, as he revoked Obama-era regulation that made it harder for people with mental illnesses to buy guns. The law, revoked by Trump last February, expanded the national background check database to include people receiving Social Security checks for mental illnesses and people deemed unfit to handle their own financial affairs.
YOU REVOKED MENTAL HEALTH CHECKS FOR GETTING GUNS, THIS IS ALL ON YOU!!
— Geri Winston (@geriwins) February 15, 2018
Yes, let’s victim blame instead of getting to the root of the ACTUAL problem....but since you’re insisting, I will be reporting you for being mentally disturbed and acting erratically.
— JennyF (@JennyFi1974) February 15, 2018
