Parkland Shooting Survivor On Phone Call With Trump: “I’ve Never Been So Unimpressed By A Person”

Following the February 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, President Trump’s been attempting to convince the public that he cares about the tragedy, while simultaneously refusing to admit that there’s a gun control problem in the U.S.

On Wednesday, he sat down with a group of survivors at the White House for a listening session to hear their experiences and ask them for feedback on how the government should proceed. He reached out to other survivors by phone, and several of them have been vocal about their complete disappointment with what Trump had to say.

One of them was Samantha Fuentes, a senior at the high school who was shot in each leg and suffered a face injury after being hit with a shrapnel.

“He said he heard that I was a big fan of his, and then he said, ‘I’m a big fan of yours too.’ I’m pretty sure he made that up,” she told The New York Times, referring to a phone call she received from Trump while she was hospitalized. “Talking to the president, I’ve never been so unimpressed by a person in my life. He didn’t make me feel better in the slightest.”

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His face-to-face conversation and phone calls with survivors of the atrocity haven’t managed to sway Trump’s loyalty to the National Rifles Association. The most he’s been willing to do is support a weak bill aimed at improving the gun background check database so that people who already aren’t allowed to get firearms can’t their hands on any — the bill changes so little that even the NRA and anti-gun control Republicans approve of it.

Given Trump’s long record demonstrating he’s got no capacity for empathy or sympathy — which was reinforced by photos of him holding crib notes at the Parkland listening session reminding him to be human — it’s no surprise that he’s completely failing to genuinely console these victims.

Fortunately though, it looks like this latest massacre has sparked a nationwide gun control movement and the energy surrounding it — perhaps because it’s being led by the kids who were actually present at the shooting and survived — feels distinctly different. Trump and Republicans might find themselves forced to make change whether they empathize or not.

Image: CBS Miami