Earlier this week, the world was rocked by the news that two mass shootings, occurring just 13 hours apart in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, left at least 31 people dead and dozens injured.
Following the shocking events, the Internet exploded with desperate pleas for gun-control reform, and for the powers at be to simply “do something.” With that said, you’d think the first logical step would be getting the basic details of the events correct, but apparently even that is impossible.
Both President Trump and Joe Biden have addressed the shootings, and in a major facepalm moment, both have mixed up the locations of where they occurred.
During his address from the White House on Monday, Trump said, “May God bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo…May God protect them.” That’s nice, Don – but the shooting didn’t happen in Toledo, it happened in Dayton.
Biden made a similar gaffe on Sunday during a fundraising event in California. The former Vice President said, “the tragic events in Houston today and also in Michigan the day before.” The politician corrected his mistake, but it was too late, and he’d already confused Houston with El Paso, and Ohio with Michigan. Yikes.
It’s a red-faced moment for Trump and Biden, but are we really that surprised? According to the Gun Violence archive, which tracks every mass shooting in the States, 2019 is the first year since 2016 with an average of more than one mass shooting a day.
That’s more mass shootings than days this year. There have been so many incredibly violent and incredibly tragic incidents in the U.S. this year, even the country’s leaders can’t keep track.
Trump says that “hate has no place,” in the U.S. and that “we’re going to take care of it,” but that means real, tangible change needs to occur, and it needs to occur immediately.