Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Trump Remains Out of Sight After Pair of Mass Shootings

Associated Press

   BRIDGEWATER, NEW JERSEY - As the nation reeled from two mass shootings
   in less than a day, President Donald Trump spent the first hours after
   the tragedies out of sight at his New Jersey golf course, sending out
   tweets of support awkwardly mixed in with those promoting a celebrity
   fight and attacking his political foes.

   Trump was to travel back to Washington later Sunday and aides said he
   would likely address reporters, but the nation did not glimpse the
   president in the immediate aftermath of a shooting in El Paso, Texas,
   that killed at least 20 people and, hours later, one in Dayton, Ohio,
   that claimed at least nine lives. Never seemingly comfortable consoling
   a nation in grief, Trump will be carefully watched for his response to
   the attacks, again inviting comparison to his predecessors who have
   tried to heal the country in moments of national trauma.

   Investigators focused on whether the El Paso attack was a hate crime
   after the emergence of a racist, anti-immigrant screed that was posted
   online shortly beforehand. Detectives sought to determine if it was
   written by the man who was arrested.

   In recent weeks, the president has issued racist tweets about four
   women of color who serve in Congress, and in rallies has spoken of an
   "invasion" at the southern border. His reelection strategy so far has
   placed racial animus at the forefront in an effort that his aides say
   is designed to activate his base of conservative voters, an approach
   not seen by an American president in the modern era.

.