Trump Quotes Bible, Ignores Jim Acosta Shouting, ‘Will You Do Something About Guns?’ Watch White House Video
President Donald Trump spoke about the tragic Florida school shooting from the White House, delivering a short speech on Thursday, February 15. As seen in the video, Trump quoted the Bible during his speech, turning to 2 Kings 20:5, as reported by Bible Gateway, to pass on the words of the Lord saying, “I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you.” However, Trump did not reference the “faith without works is dead” message in Scripture, because Trump did not mention anything about gun control or gun reform during his speech. It was a notion that didn’t go unnoticed by Jim Acosta of CNN.
According to Anita Kumar, a White House Correspondent with McClatchy Newspapers, Trump refused to answer a question shouted at the end of his speech by CNN’s Acosta, when Acosta asked Trump, “Will you do something about guns?” (The interaction can be heard best in the below video from the Washington Post.) As seen in the below tweet, Acosta confirmed that he asked President Trump when he would do something about guns, and additionally asked why gun tragedies keep happening in the U.S.
Jim said that Trump simply said, “Thank you.” Acosta reported that Trump did not acknowledge his question about gun control in America. Trump also said that no child or teacher should ever be in danger in school.
Trump’s remarks in the Diplomatic Room are getting a lot of attention on social media, with Kumar reporting that Trump “walked slowly to the podium and read from a teleprompter” at 11:22 a.m. Thursday morning.
Trump condemns Florida rifle massacre as he says he'll visit the school – but makes NO mention of gun control https://t.co/oNnkGAPXDK pic.twitter.com/sCe6MF5K2J
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) February 15, 2018
Trump’s speech lasted six and half minutes and called the shooting that happened on Valentine’s Day a result of “terrible violence, hatred and evil.” Trump noted that he would visit Parkland, Florida, in the future, without specifying a date for his trip. Although Trump said that he would discuss with state authorities ways to make schools safer, he stated that without mentioning guns.
Video: AR-15: The Gun Behind So Many Mass Shootings, via @nytimes https://t.co/SSJW1EC1ia
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 15, 2018
Trump addressed part of his speech directly to schoolchildren and left the room at 11:29 am. According to Kumar, there was no service in the White House room, so the reporter apologized for the delay in her pool report. An additional report from Kumar lists more of Trump’s speech.
Following the president's remarks, I tried to ask Trump why does this keep happening in America and whether he will do anything about guns. He did not respond except to say thank you.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 15, 2018
