President Trump arrived in Las Vegas on Wednesday to console the victims of the country’s deadliest mass shooting while honoring the doctors and first responders who helped save lives as a deranged sniper fired from the 32nd floor of a casino three days ago.
Fifty-nine people were killed and more than 500 injured in the Sunday attack.
Trump, accompanied by the first lady, arrived at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas shortly after noon local time. The White House said ahead of the visit that the president will visit a hospital and also meet with “civilian heroes” and first responders before returning to Washington on Wednesday afternoon.
“I will be landing in Las Vegas shortly to pay my respects with @FLOTUS Melania,” the president tweeted from Air Force One. “Everyone remains in our thoughts and prayers.”
Las Vegas is a city the president knows well: Trump International Hotel Las Vegas is only a few miles down the road from Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where police say a man named Stephen Paddock smashed two windows in his suite overlooking a country music festival on Sunday night and opened gunfire on concertgoers.
In recent days, Democrats have called for new gun control measures in the wake of the massacre. Both Trump and congressional Republicans have said it’s too early to discuss any legislative actions that could be taken.
“Look, we have a tragedy,” the president told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “What happened is, in many ways, a miracle. The police department, they’ve done such an incredible job. And we’ll be talking about gun laws as time goes on.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday it’s too soon to discuss policy changes when authorities still haven’t gathered all the facts of the shooting.
“There’s a time and place for a political debate, but now is the time to unite as a country,” Sanders said. “There is currently an open and ongoing law enforcement investigation. A motive is yet to be determined.”
MCCONNELL: ‘INAPPROPRIATE TO POLITICIZE’ LAS VEGAS MASSACRE
On Tuesday, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, called it both “inappropriate” and “premature” to discuss whether Congress should consider gun control legislation.
“Look the investigation has not even been completed, and I think it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions, if there are any,” McConnell told reporters, when asked if he could support new gun restrictions in response to the country’s deadliest mass shooting.
On Monday morning, just hours after the shooting, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton called for the defeat of a National Rifle Association-backed bill in Congress that would ease regulations on gun silencers.
“The crowd fled at the sound of gunshots,” Clinton tweeted. “Imagine the deaths if the shooter had a silencer, which the NRA wants to make easier to get. Our grief isn’t enough. We can and must put politics aside, stand up to the NRA, and work together to try to stop this from happening again.”
Likewise, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, an ardent proponent of gun control, blasted what he referred to as “legislative indifference” on guns.
“It’s time for Congress to get off its ass and do something,” he said.
