President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in Dayton, Ohio Wednesday morning to seas of protesters baring signs calling for gun control and an end to hate-filled rhetoric. Trump’s Ohio visit came just days after a gunman opened fire in the city’s historic Oregon District, killing nine and injuring more than 20 in what marked the nation’s second shooting that weekend and the 250th mass shooting in 2019.
A quick tour of some of the signs protesting President Donald Trump’s visit to Dayton. pic.twitter.com/xHA6Rc11fd
— Eliott C. McLaughlin (@ByEliott) August 7, 2019
“Welcome to Toledo,” one sign read, referring to the gaffe Trump made during his address to the nation earlier this week, during which he mistakenly claimed a shooting had occurred in Toledo, Ohio, a city located nearly 150 miles north of Dayton.
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“Even my dog hates you,” bore another sign.
“Trump is a motivational speaker for hate,” a third sign read.
“I want you to stop being afraid of other Americans, of other religions, of other classes, of other nations, of speaking out,” read another sign bearing the image of Uncle Sam. “You’re Americans. Act like it!”
Several more signs bore the messages “Do Something,” “Ban Assault Weapons,” and “We need gun control not thoughts & prayers.”
The president touched down in Ohio shortly before 11 a.m. local time and is scheduled to travel to El Paso, Texas, the location of the Saturday mass shooting at a Walmart that killed 22 and injured nearly 30, later in the day.
During his Dayton visit, Trump is expected to visit Miami Valley Hospital, a level 1 trauma center that treated multiple victims from the weekend’s shooting. In anticipation of his arrival, more crowds have gathered outside the location, with the infamous “baby Trump” balloon making an appearance.
Addressing his visit, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley stood by protestors, telling reporters, according to NBC News, that “his rhetoric has been painful for many in our community, and I think people should stand up and say they are not happy if they are not happy he’s coming.”
Trump, however, has downplayed the impact his rhetoric has had on the country, telling reporters during a press conference before he disembarked from the White House that “these are people who are looking for political gain, and as much as possible I try to stay out of that.”
Trump also downplayed efforts to restrict or ban assault weapons or high-capacity ammunition magazines, such as the ones used in the shootings, stating that there’s “great appetite to do something to make sure that mentally unstable, seriously ill people aren’t carrying guns…I have not seen it in regard to certain types of weapons.”
