‘One Of The Most F*%ked Up Things I’ve Ever Seen’: People Are Aghast Over Trump’s Cringe NRA Convention ‘Tribute’ To The Victims Of The Texas School Massacre

The gun massacre in Uvalde, which left 19 children and two adults dead, did a number on an event scheduled mere days later and in the same state: the annual National Rifle Association convention, held a four-plus hour drive away, in Houston. A number of scheduled speakers, including Texas governor Greg Abbott, pulled out at the last second. Donald Trump, however, did not. He showed up as planned, albeit with one stipulation: Those there to celebrate the right to bear arms were not allowed to bear arms during his speech.

Those that showed up were treated to a typical Trump speech, filled with bluster and insults and distortions. There was one section, though, that stood out from the rest: He attempted to pay tribute to the victims of the mass shooting, which was perpetrated by a teenager who legally obtained a semi-automatic weapon, a handgun, and a stockpile of bullets.

Alas Trump’s tribute was nothing more than him robotically reading the names of the victims, one by one, followed by the sound of a bell. He clearly did no research into how to pronounce the names of the deceased, many of them Hispanic and Latinx, badly garbling one after the other.

Not only was Trump’s tribute not moving. It seemed to many to be insulting and nightmarish.

Even with the attempted somber memoriam to innocent people who were preventably slaughtered, Trump made sure to end his speech with a dance.

Also in attendance was Ted Cruz, who has advocated, as Seth Meyers put it, “door control” over gun control.

While those inside the convention center were attempting to defend the use of semi-automatic weapons in the face of so much needless bloodshed, hundreds of protesters congregated outside, ranging from gun control activists to children.