Dayton Mayor Will Tell Trump 'How Unhelpful He's Been' On Guns During His Visit

Nan Whaley, the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday dismissed President Donald Trump’s response to the shooting in her city that left nine people dead after a gunman opened fire outside a bar in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Speaking to reporters, Whaley said she intended to tell the president “how unhelpful he’s been on this” when he visits Wednesday.

“Yesterday, his comments weren’t very helpful to the issue around guns,” she said.

In a speech on Monday, Trump spoke about Dayton as well as another mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, that left at least 22 dead. The 21-year-old gunman in Texas is suspected to have posted a white supremacist manifesto before the attack.

Instead of identifying the widespread availability of high-capacity rifles in the U.S., Trump claimed that “mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger ― not the gun.”

Though he urged the nation to “condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” he did not acknowledge his own role in stoking such insidious ideologies on Twitter and at campaign rallies.

Whaley pointed out the need for improved mental health resources in the U.S. but noted that when it comes to gun control, lawmakers in Washington have failed.

“You see a lot of nothing happening on a lot of stuff, and common sense gun reform is definitely an example where nothing’s happened,” she said. “So yeah, we want something to happen there, too.”

On Twitter, Trump floated “marrying” background check legislation with immigration reform, drawing frustration from Democrats who swiftly condemned the proposal.

Trump is also set to visit El Paso on Wednesday, though two of the state’s Democratic politicians ― Rep. Veronica Escobar and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke ― have made clear that he is not welcome.