Here’s the thing about Wednesday’s White House “listening session” on school shootings — it wasn’t a protest, or a march, or a vigil, but an opportunity for the president and vice president to listen to various points of view and proposed solutions to gun violence in schools.
Pretty extraordinary scene watching a US President sit there and let victims just go down the line and vent at him.
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) February 21, 2018
We have to say we were impressed, and Breitbart’s Joel Pollak summed it up pretty well:
.@realDonaldTrump's White House Listening Session on guns is America at its best. This is the basic, decent, civil discussion that we have craved from our leaders for decades. I don't agree with everything I'm hearing — of course not — but look at how respectful and open it is.
— Joel B. Pollak (@joelpollak) February 21, 2018
That’s just it. You can have someone headlining a rally demanding that someone “do something,” or you can listen to all your options. Or, if you’re, say, New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow, you stop listening when things go beyond your comfort zone.
Trump flipping through his talking point index cards because there was no way to count out and actually speak from that tiny heart, obviously…
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) February 21, 2018
Ask Trump what he feels about the NRA spending $30 million to support him and attack his presidential opponent. #ListeningSession
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) February 21, 2018
Thanks god for the mayor. FINALLY! Someone brings up GUNS – regulations, bans and removal. Thank you mayor!!!! #ListeningSession
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) February 21, 2018
Heart breaking for this dad, but when he said “it’s not about gun laws”… #ListeningSession
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) February 21, 2018
Ok, this man just said arm the teachers, and have armed undercover police officers on campus. I’m DONE with this #ListeningSession. #ITried
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) February 21, 2018
He tried, but now he’s done listening.
Did the president* of the United States just propose conceal carry at school?! We are lost. We are doomed. We are all going to die. (I tried to turn it off but couldn’t.) #ListeningSession
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) February 21, 2018
Throw this whole #ListeningSession away!…
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) February 21, 2018
So, scrap the whole listening session because not everyone agreed with Blow’s call for “regulations, bans, and removal.” And forget about having armed security on campus.
https://twitter.com/bulkhead16/status/966441383559970816
Good talk.
See, this is #ListeningSession is why I don’t want to go to any meetings with Trump. Polite nodding is not something of which I am capable.
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) February 21, 2018
We don’t imagine that will be a problem, though it’ll be interesting to hear the liberal spin when Trump softens on gun control.
Pres. Trump closes White House listening session on school shootings by saying he is looking at issues such as age of purchase for weapons and mental health: "It's very difficult, it's very complex, but we'll find a solution." https://t.co/n1QeStHCsd pic.twitter.com/61nDJx4743
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 21, 2018
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