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:
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.”
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Could Trump run for a third term?The Explainer Constitutional amendment limits US presidents to two terms, but Trump diehards claim there is a loophole
-
Trump’s Ukraine peace talks advance amid leaked callSpeed Read Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit Russia next week
-
Memo signals Trump review of 233k refugeesSpeed Read The memo also ordered all green card applications for the refugees to be halted
-
Judge tosses Trump DOJ cases against Comey, JamesSpeed Read Both cases could potentially be brought again
-
X’s location update exposes international troll industryIn the Spotlight Social media platform’s new transparency feature reveals ‘scope and geographical breadth’ of accounts spreading misinformation
-
Tariffs: Will Trump’s reversal lower prices?Feature Retailers may not pass on the savings from tariff reductions to consumers
-
Trump: Is he losing control of MAGA?Feature We may be seeing the ‘first meaningful right-wing rebellion against autocracy of this era’
