People Aren't Here For Donald Trump's "Bad Hair Day" Joke After The Pittsburgh Shooting
On the evening of the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that killed at least 11 people, President Donald Trump gave a speech at the Future Farmers of America Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was during the speech that President Trump made a joke about getting wet from the rain. Trump joked that his hair had been ruined earlier that day when he had to answer questions about the shooting in the rain, and people were not here for it.
"Somebody said your hair looks different today," Trump said to the crowd, per Newsweek. He continued, "I was standing under the wing of Air Force One doing a news conference earlier this morning, a very unfortunate news conference, and the wind was blowing and the rain and I was soaking wet and that's what I ended up with today. And I said but at least you know it's mine." After the audience laughed and cheered, Trump also joked that he had considered canceling his speech at the Future Farmers of America Convention because he was having "a bad hair day." Elite Daily reached out to the White House for further clarification of President Trump's remarks, but did not hear back at the time of publication.
He then said, "And the bad news, somebody said, 'Actually it looks better than it usually does.'" LOL?
People on Twitter were quick to note that it was entirely inappropriate to joke about one of the deadliest attacks on the Jewish American community in the history of the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League, as reported by CNN. So, it's safe to say that the real bad news here was not Trump's "bad hair day."
Inappropriate remarks about his hair weren't the only comments Trump made after the shooting that unsettled people. Shortly after the news broke, Trump said the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue could have been prevented if the people inside had been armed themselves. According to CNN's Jerry Diamond, when asked about gun laws Trump said "This has little do do with it. If they had some kind of a protection inside the temple, then it could have maybe been a very different situation. They didn't." Elite Daily reached out to White House for further comment on President Trump's remarks but did not hear back at the time of publication.
He also avoided a conversation about gun control by diverting the question to the death penalty. When asked what can be done to prevent such violence in the future, Trump said "We should stiffen up our laws in terms of the death penalty. When people do this they should get the death penalty … they should very much bring the death penalty into vogue." Elite Daily reached out to White House for further comment on President Trump's remarks on death penalty but did not hear back at the time of publication. The response doesn't offer a preventative measure, just a way to punish or reprimand those who commit acts of violence.
Though Trump didn't directly address gun control, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe's response to the shooting mentioned the importance of considering weapons when we talk about mass shootings and violence. Per an official statement on the shooting, Gov. Wolfe said, "We must all pray and hope for no more loss of life. But we have been saying “this one is too many” for far too long. Dangerous weapons are putting our citizens in harm’s way ... in the aftermath of this tragedy, we must come together and take action to prevent these tragedies in the future. We cannot accept this violence as normal."
The synagogue shooting is being investigated by the FBI as a hate crime, per The New York Times. So, it's easy to see why people would be upset at a poorly timed joke in the wake of this tragedy.
