President Donald Trump has criticized two Ohio Democrats who accompanied him during his visit at a Dayton hospital to meet with first responders and victims of the shooting massacre, saying that the pair was “misrepresenting what took place inside of the hospital.”
The conference quickly garnered the president’s attention, where he took to Twitter to give his account of the visit and contradict Brown and Whaley.
“Just left Dayton, Ohio, where I met with the Victims & families, Law Enforcement, Medical Staff & First Responders,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “It was a warm & wonderful visit. Tremendous enthusiasm & even Love.”
“Then I saw failed Presidential Candidate (0%) Sherrod Brown & Mayor Whaley totally misrepresenting what took place inside of the hospital. Their news conference after I left for El Paso was a fraud. It bore no resemblance to what took place with those incredible people that I was so lucky to meet and spend time with. They were all amazing!” he added.
The president didn’t specify what in the press conference he was referring to.
Trump’s assistant and White House social media director, Dan Scavino Jr., also shared his account of the hospital trip on Twitter while calling out the two Ohio Democrats for “lying and completely mischaracterizing what took place” while accusing them of “politicizing a mass shooting.”
In a separate post, he shared photos of the president meeting with medical staff at the hospital.
“President [realDonaldTrump] with the incredible medical staff at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio today. Some extremely powerful moments throughout the entire visit, with so much enthusiasm and love, contrary to what the Trump Hating Dems would ever share or say,” he wrote.
While taking questions from reporters, Grisham said the hospital visit was not opened to press because the visit was not “a photo opp” but instead was “about the victims and their families and thanking [the] medical staff.”
“Do I think we’re going to see another mass shooting tomorrow or Friday? Probably. Because Washington will do nothing,” Whaley said.
Whaley also said Trump made a “good decision” not to visit the busy entertainment district where the shooting took place.
“You saw just some of the anger and agitation in our community about it. I think a lot of people who own businesses in that district aren’t interested in the president being here,” Whaley said. “A lot of the time, his talk can be very divisive, and that’s the last thing we need in Dayton.”
Moreover, Brown also took the opportunity during the conference to slam the president, accusing Trump of dividing and playing to race with his rhetoric.
Trump defended his rhetoric earlier in the day after opponents pinned the blame for the massacres on the president’s rhetoric and on gun laws they say are not restrictive enough.
“I think my rhetoric brings people together,” Trump said. “Our country is doing incredibly well.”
Responding to the president’s comments, Whaley posted on Twitter she was not sure what the president was referring to when he accused them of misrepresenting the hospital trip.
