Social Media Responds to Trump's 'Bullsh*t Soup' Teleprompter Speech On Mass Shootings

This morning, President Trump suggested on Twitter that Congress should pass stricter gun reform laws, but tie them to immigration reform, which is essentially his way of saying, “Republicans will make it harder for their supporters to get guns, if Democrats give Republicans fewer targets.”

In a statement this morning, read with all the passion and enthusiasm of a man who just returned from a morning lobotomy, President Trump — clearly suffering from a bad case of dry mouth/sniffy nose — read from a script provided by his staff, which we know because 1) he actually condemned racism and white supremacy, 2) he did not blame the media (as he had earlier this morning), and 3) he did not discuss gun reform.

Trump sounds like a robot when condemning white supremacy and like himself when he’s attacking religious and ethnic minorities because one is him pretending and one is him being himself.

— Adam Serwer🍝 (@AdamSerwer) August 5, 2019

In fact, in addition to offering condolences to the wrong city (he said Toledo instead of Dayton, even though he was reading from a script), he again downplayed the role of guns, suggesting that it was “mental health” problem, that social media was responsible, and so were video games. He literally said, “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun.” Meanwhile, it’s 2000 damn 19 and Republicans are still blaming video games, despite ample evidence from the shooter’s manifesto echoing Fox News talking points.

In case you were wondering how sincere he is, he couldn’t be bothered to remember the actual city where it happened. https://t.co/NsD2OFlWxV

— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) August 5, 2019

Of course, none of what he read from a statement written by his staff actually matters. What matters is what he says on Twitter this afternoon and in another PA rally tomorrow night, which will probably undercut statements made this morning.

In any respect, some of the Dem campaigns have already responded:

Biden spokesman on Trump's remarkshttps://t.co/8q7XQRAbHk

— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) August 5, 2019

And the Harris camphttps://t.co/fWBde5SVbN

— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) August 5, 2019

Castro camphttps://t.co/4delUOcBrp

— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) August 5, 2019

And Cory Booker:

I will let the boss speak for himself. pic.twitter.com/J3dtnopaCo

— Addisu Demissie (@ASDem) August 5, 2019

“Mental illness & hate pulls trigger, not the gun” is President’s dodge to avoid truth: there’s mental illness&hate throughout world, but U.S. stands alone w/high rate of gun violence. When someone can kill 9 people in a minute, that gun should never have been sold. Action!

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) August 5, 2019

Elizabeth Warren, meanwhile, is trying to raise funds for Senate campaigns to take back the Senate in 2020:

Republicans won’t act—because gun lobbyists are signing their checks. We must take back the Senate in 2020.

Will you chip in to help elect Democrats to the Senate? Let’s build a grassroots movement to beat back the gun lobby and end gun violence. https://t.co/1DWpKHJivA

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 5, 2019

This came from Beto before the speech (and Beto, to his credit, is out in front and speaking from the heart on this issue):

This president’s open racism is an invitation to violence. The writing has been on the wall since his maiden speech coming down that escalator calling immigrants "rapists and criminals." The actions that follow cannot surprise us. pic.twitter.com/jSBbAQROF0

— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) August 5, 2019

Republicans, meanwhile, remain mostly silent:

Wow. CNN says it reached out to 50 GOP lawmakers this morning; 49 declined to appear on air to discuss the El Paso and Dayton shootings. Only Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), who’s on now, said yes. Yesterday, Jake Tapper similarly highlighted GOPers who declined to appear on @CNNSotu

— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) August 5, 2019

The rest of Twitter? They were not impressed with the speech:

The President of the United States just read an empty, insincere speech off a teleprompter, completely ignored his responsibility, gave no solutions, and even named the wrong city where a slaughter took place and pundits are falling over themselves to give him credit.

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) August 5, 2019

I'm pretty sure the next time Trump denounces racism without the aid of someone else's words and a teleprompter will be the first time. No one should listen to what he says in prepared remarks—it's always quickly undercut by him saying what he really thinks speaking off the cuff. https://t.co/09nYAytLet

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) August 5, 2019

It's one thing to read from the teleprompter. It's another thing to hold yourself accountable.

Trump's track record is one replete with countless examples of attacks on Black people, immigrants and people of color.

To right the course, he must own and denounce his own conduct. https://t.co/6FCZASeFjL

— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) August 5, 2019

Well are you all happy now? Trump read his sadness speech badly like a 6th grader from the teleprompter sniff, sniff, sniffing all the way through while struggling to pronounce the names written on his speech & failing to stop at the periods. Yada, yada, yada mental illness. pic.twitter.com/MTjEBvYNv9

— vlh (@coton_luver) August 5, 2019

That speech was insincere trash. Don’t take any journalist seriously who will say, Trump sounded Presidential, because he read a teleprompter. #WhiteSupremacistInChief

— Alvin aqua Blanco (@Aqua174) August 5, 2019

Also, his facial expressions reading the teleprompter remind me of the expressions a tip-controlled-vibrator, live-webcam model on Chaturbate makes when tipped.

— Tom & Lorenzo (@tomandlorenzo) August 5, 2019

Please do not advance the narrative that “mental illness pulls the trigger.” That is not what these shootings are about. They are about hatred. They are about racism. They are about a president who enjoys the rhetoric he creates.

— Kathleen Schmidt (@Bookgirl96) August 5, 2019

Trump definitely has the vibe of someone reading a hostage statement.

— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) August 5, 2019

Rather ironic words for someone to write for a sociopath. https://t.co/iZpdlvMFe4

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 5, 2019

They will stop at nothing to divert your attention. It’s the video games. It’s the music. It’s the media. It’s the religion. It’s the schools. It’s them, it’s not us. It’s mental health but we’ll take your care anyways. Anything but the bullet in a child’s heart or mother’s head.

— Rep. Joe Kennedy III (@RepJoeKennedy) August 5, 2019

Mexicans are rapists. Africa is a shithole. Send her back. Obama’s birth certificate. Ban all Muslims. Mexican judges can’t be impartial. Very fine people in Charlottesville. https://t.co/xoQmjOyJEb

— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) August 5, 2019

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Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.

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