Donald Trump’s ‘cheat sheet’ for meeting shooting survivors goes viral
Notes for conversation with survivors and relatives from Parkland, Sandy Hook and Columbine include ‘I hear you’

President Donald Trump has been lambasted online after photos of his “crib sheet” for a discussion with survivors of school shootings went viral.
The White House audience was attended by survivors of the recent massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, as well as “parents of children killed in shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary and Columbine High School”, Sky News reports.
The handwritten side of paper, which was clearly visible to cameras, contained a list of five bullet points seemingly intended to guide the commander-in-chief through his meeting with students, parents and teachers affected by gun violence in schools.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Prompts on the sheet included "What would you most want me to know about your experience?” and “What can we do to help you feel safe?”.
The final pointer read, simply, “I hear you”.
The image quickly spread on social media, where critics accused the president of “feigning compassion”, says Sky News.
Although some saw a (limited) bright side:
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
However, speaking without notes or autocue, the president “cast a tender tone” in his address to attendees, CNN reports.
“I just grieve for you... to me, there could be nothing worse than what you've gone through,” Trump said.
“Thank you for pouring out your hearts because the world is watching and we're going to come up with a solution.”
-
Scorching hot sauces that pack a punch
The Week Recommends The best sauces to tingle your lips and add a fiery kick to your food
-
Syria’s strange post-Assad election
The Explainer Sunday’s limited vote ‘suited the phase Syria is undergoing’, says interim president
-
Why did the China spying case collapse?
Today’s Big Question Unwillingness to call China an ‘enemy’ apparently scuppered espionage trial
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeeze
THE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot