Former Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton all released statements after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday left 19 children and two adults dead.
Trump posted on his TRUTH Social account, saying:
So hard to think of report about anything else after watching the Texas school “massacre” which took place yesterday. Thank you to the great wisdom and bravery of our Law Enforcement Professionals, and condolences to all who are suffering so gravely with the loss of those incredible souls so close to you. No words can express the sorrow and grief of this absolutely horrible event. It is a moment in time which will never be forgotten!
Obama, who has publicly called for gun control after other mass shootings, released a statement on his Twitter account:
Across the country, parents are putting their children to bed, reading stories, singing lullabies—and in the back of their minds, they’re worried about what might happen tomorrow after they drop their kids off at school, or take them to a grocery store or any other public space.
Michelle and I grieve with the families in Uvalde, who are experiencing pain no one should have to bear.
We’re also angry for them. Nearly ten years after Sandy Hook—and ten days after Buffalo—our country is paralyzed, not by fear, but by a gun lobby and a political party that have shown no willingness to act in any way that might help prevent these tragedies.
A statement from Clinton was also released on his Twitter account:
My heart breaks for the families who sent their children and loved ones off to school today at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, whose lives will now never be the same.
We owe these families –and the families who have experienced similar losses, including as recently as last week in Buffalo—action. Enough is enough. The American people overwhelmingly agree. Our elected leaders at the local, state, and federal levels, regardless of party, must find common-sense ways to keep our children and communities safe. They can do so without touching the right to hunt, sport shoot, and keep guns for self-defense. Propaganda and paranoia have kept us from helping each other on this for too long. We can do – and be – better.
The time to act is now.
Former Presidents George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter had not yet made a statement as of Wednesday afternoon.
President Joe Biden spoke from the White House just before 9 pm EST not long after completing a 17-hour return flight from Asia. In his speech, Biden said, “When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?”