NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Local Democrats are slamming President Trump and the nation’s gun laws after two mass shootings this weekend left dozens of people dead and dozens more injured.
Democratic hopeful and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. He blamed President Trump.
“He’s responsible because he is president of the United States and has failed to do anything significant to stop the mass availability of weapons to people who intend to do harm,” Booker said.
“Donald Trump is responsible for this. He is responsible because he is stoking fears and hatred and bigotry. He is responsible because he is failing to condemn white supremacy and see it as it is, which is responsible for such a significant amount of the terrorist attacks,” Booker said.
“This harvest of hate violence that we’re seeing now lies at his feet,” he said.
But White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said the president does denounce white supremacy.
“The people responsible here are the people who pulled the trigger. We need to figure out how to create less of those kinds of people as a society and not try to figure out who gets blamed going into the next election,” Mulvaney said.
He said the president shouldn’t be blamed.
“I don’t think it’s fair to try to lay this at the feet of the president. There are people in this country this morning thinking that President Trump was happy about this,” Mulvaney said. “That is a sad, sad state of this nation. He’s angry. He’s upset, and he wants it to stop.”
Trump, who has been at his golf club this weekend, hasn’t spoken publicly but has tweeted that he and Melania Trump are praying for the victims. He called the shooting in El Paso, which killed 20 people and left dozens more injured Saturday, “tragic” and an “act of cowardice.”
“God bless the people of El Paso Texas. God bless the people of Dayton, Ohio,” he tweeted Sunday after the shooting in Dayton, which killed at least nine and injured dozens of others earlier in the day.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is also running for president, called the shootings “horrific” and said white nationalism threatens the country.
“Gun violence is an epidemic in our country—one that doesn’t discriminate. And it’s one that won’t end until we beat back the gun lobby and win stronger, smarter gun laws,” the mayor said in a statement.
"Domestic terrorism perpetrated by white nationalists is bringing our country to its knees. This president needs to address the nation and be honest about the real threat to our sovereignty," de Blasio later tweeted.
“While President Trump cowardly kowtows to the NRA, the gun violence epidemic is tearing apart our nation and people are dying. Thoughts and prayers will not stop this madness. In New York, we stand up to the NRA. We stand up for the safety of children. We stand up for sanity. It's past time leaders in Washington did the same. Until they do, these senseless murders will continue,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
"Our country is under attack from within, and continuing to ignore what is happening around us will only lead to more bloodshed and more tragedy -- all of it preventable," Cuomo said. "On behalf of all New Yorkers, I'm sorry you live in a country with a Federal Government that allows this to happen and does nothing."
Gov. Phil Murphy retweeted a statement by Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver saying that “we are facing a national crisis of senseless gun violence. New Jersey will continue to pursue commonsense gun safety.”
Murphy also tweeted that "The domestic terrorist attacks in El Paso and Dayton, and last week's attack in Gilroy, ought to be the wake-up calls to pull our national leaders out of the gun lobby's trance."
Sen. Chuck Scumer said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell must call the Senate back for an emergency session to put the House-passed universal background checks legislation on the Senate floor for debate and a vote immediately. He also slammed Trump.
"When President @realDonaldTrump spends more time and energy denouncing Rep. Elijah Cummings and Baltimore than he does denouncing right-wing extremists who often traffic in hate and white nationalism, it shows his priorities are un-American and way off balance," Schumer tweeted.
"Again, and again, and again, and again, and again...and nothing in response. This is domestic terrorism going unchecked and it’s complete madness. My heart is with El Paso and all the victims and their families," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, another Democratic presidential contender, tweeted.
Rep. Jerry Nadler was at a rally in New York City to end gun violence on Sunday.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez assailed white nationalism and Congress' failure to act on gun legislation.