Trump, 2012: "Obama Spoke for Me and Every American" in His Post-Newtown Speech

And what did Obama talk about after the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting?

Trump's tweet is dated December 17, 2012. On December 14, 2012, Obama said this:

"As a country we have been through this too many times, whether it's an elementary school in Newtown or a shopping mall in Oregon or a a temple in Wisconsin or a movie theater in Aurora or a street corner in Chicago. These neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children. We're going to have to come together to take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics."

Then, on December 16th, 2012, Obama delivered these remarks to an interfaith vigil at Newtown high school, about the victims of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting:

Can we say that we're truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?

I've been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer's no. We're not doing enough. And we will have to change.

Since I've been president, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by mass shootings, fourth time we've hugged survivors, the fourth time we've consoled the families of victims.

And in between, there have been an endless series of deadly shootings across the country, almost daily reports of victims, many of them children, in small towns and in big cities all across America, victims whose - much of the time their only fault was being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change.

We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can't be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this.

If there's even one step we can take to save another child or another parent or another town from the grief that's visited Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek and Newtown and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that, then surely we have an obligation to try.

In the coming weeks, I'll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens, from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this, because what choice do we have? We can't accept events like this as routine.

Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard?

Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?

On December 17, 2012 -- after both of those statements -- Trump tweeted:

It seems to me likely he was referring to the latest statement, the day before, but I've made errors in this post (see below) and can't rule out the possibility there was another statement made on December 17, 2012 (though if there is, I can't find it).

Three weeks later, Obama outlined the gun control plan he'd teased in the post-Newton speech.

CORRECTED: I got the dates wrong initially, and claimed, erroneously, that Trump echoed Obama's specific gun control proposals on January 5, 2013. He did not.

He agreed with either Obama's earlier statement of December 14, 2012, calling for "meaningful action" on guns, no matter what the "politics," or his speech at the Newton Elementary vigil, calling for greater "law enforcement" to reduce gun violence and deploying his "if we can save one life" type rhetoric.

He did not, however, endorse the gun control specifics announced January 5, 2013.

Apologies for my confusion on these points, and these dates.

posted by Ace at 02:05 PM

| Access Comments