Joe Biden, his wife, and their children were visiting Uvalde in Texas on Sunday. They met with families, attended a funeral, and visited the temporary memorial that was set up at the school to remember them.
Pres. Biden and Jill Biden first lady place flowers at Uvalde Memorial in Texas after the Robb Elementary School shooting. https://t.co/eauOHvQLnR pic.twitter.com/MXCgkr7XF7
— ABC News (@ABC) May 29, 2022
While some appeared to welcome that Biden was there, others thought that he shouldn’t have come at this time — that the focus should be on the families, not on Biden, as reporter Stella Chavez told CNN’s Brian Stelter.
Washington Examiner
“I think it depends on who you ask,” Chavez said during an appearance on Reliable Sources. “I think, for the most part, the families who were affected want to focus on their loved ones who were killed. They should have the President of our Country come to their aid and send condolences. But I also know, I’ve heard people say, you know, now is not the time for him to come here.”
Asked why that is, Chavez said, “I think some people are concerned about politicizing this event. And I’ve heard a lot of outrage from people. But I’ve also heard from folks who say, ‘I don’t want to focus on that, on what could have happened, what should’ve happened, I just want to focus on the kids.’ So I would just say it depends on who you ask. But I do think it’s significant that he’s coming here and especially so soon after another similar trip to Buffalo where a horrible mass shooting also happened.”
Biden, after attending Mass, was supposed to go over to the local crowd waiting for him. However, he did not get to meet locals when chants broke out: “Do something!” #Uvalde
Biden now plans to visit the family members of the victim’s families— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) May 29, 2022
This looks like some of the politicization that people are concerned about, as you see people trying to mourn outside the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, while others were shouting at Biden to “Do something!”
“Do Something! Do something! Crowds chant President Biden’s name, while the other half tells them that they should stop and head home. They chant “Thank You Joe!” in Uvalde Texas pic.twitter.com/ZniuNT49Sn
— Oliya Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) May 29, 2022
And he replied to the crowd, “We will.”
JUST IN (via the WH Press pool)
#UvaldeTexas: Someone shouted today at #BidenRefer to #GunReform: “Do something!”Biden responded, “We will”.#RobbElementary #RobbElementaryschool pic.twitter.com/Cva8SkvUek
— Devon Heinen (@DevonHeinen) May 29, 2022
It’s not the best time or the right place.
About 600 people attended the church service featuring Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, who said, “Our hearts are broken.”
The Bidens met afterwards with their families and the victims of the shooting. He’s then scheduled to meet with first responders later in the afternoon, and then he’s flying out. Let’s hope that the focus is on comforting the families of the victims at this time, not on politics. We’ll keep you updated if he makes any formal remarks.
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