It has only been two weeks since President Donald Trump formally addressed the nation in the wake of deadly shootings in El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; and Gilroy, California. But on Sunday, not long after he initially showed support for enhanced background checks, the president suddenly reversed course, suggesting any momentum for passing any meaningful legislation to curb gun violence may have already dissipated.
Speaking to the press before returning to Washington from vacation at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump suggested Congress had been considering various proposals in the aftermath of those shootings, but said he is primarily concerned about “mental health” issues, and insisted that the country needs to bring back “mental institutions.”
“I’m not talking about as a form of prison,” he said, “I’m saying for help.”
He added that, “unrelated,” he also supported voter identification laws, which have proven to serve no purpose but to suppress minority votes.