Photo Of Donald Trump’s Notes For Listening Session: One Talking Point Perceived As Prompt For Empathy
Donald Trump is under fire for one of the talking points spotted on a list he was holding during a meeting with survivors of the Florida school shooting.
CNN tweeted a photo of the note card the president had in his hand while taking in what students had to say during a listening session at the White House on Wednesday. It had a total of five talking points and the fifth one is causing disbelief on social media.
The president let the students, families, and teachers from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School take center stage at the White House during the listening session. Many had grievances about America’s gun culture and pleaded with Trump to make a difference in his administration. The president did little talking and a lot of listening. When he did talk, he asked those in the room what they want him to know about their experience and what they think needs to be done. His questions were seen on reminder notes he had, but the last point written was perhaps something that didn’t need to be written down.
When glancing at the final talking point on Donald Trump’s note card during the listening session, No. 5 read “I hear you.”
Even if it was just a reminder to the president that it was his turn to respond to everyone once they were finished, it appeared to be a prompt for empathy. Some of the tweets below show the shock people had at viewing the photo of Trump’s note card.
This photograph from a listening session with survivors of mass shootings showed President Trump had a list of things to say, including point number five: “I hear you.” https://t.co/uYMS7nScnC pic.twitter.com/lGGQAQ5kJh
— CNN (@CNN) February 21, 2018
His staff had him prep but he couldnt memorize 5 points or speak from his heart. What happened to that great memory @realDonaldTrump claims to have
— Anthony (@AnthonyBoom2117) February 22, 2018
You need notes for a listening session giving you pointers on how to be a god damn human being???
— Ivan Sanz (@isanz33) February 22, 2018
OMG, I hear you is on there. We’re all doomed. I bet the animatronic robot of him at Disney has more feelings.
— Shamey_Ames (@shamey_ames9x) February 22, 2018
Why would a genius need written notes to say “i hear you”?
— thelmahodge (@thelmahodge) February 22, 2018
Donald Trump is skewered often for lacking empathy. He’s notorious for turning any type of event into something about himself, but refrained from doing so during the listening session. He showed respect for the victims and survivors of school shootings. When it was Trump’s turn to conclude the listening session, he emphasized that they were “heard.” He did reassure his guests that something will be done to better protect students in America’s schools.
It’s unknown if Trump “scripted” the part about “I hear you,” but the notes he was holding is giving people something to debate online about how sincere he was in expressing his empathy. As many others argue in the comments on Twitter, people will find anything to complain about. Many defended Donald Trump’s notes during the listening session by saying talking points aren’t unusual and that the last point listed on the president’s card was a cue to give his closing remarks.
