The president and many of his supporters live in an alternate reality, held up by completely demonstrably false notions about the way that the world works. No matter how harsh the criticism is that you level at the Trump administration, its head, Donald Trump, just continues to spout off nonsensical remark after nonsensical remark.
This past Friday, he spoke at the annual convention of the National Rifle Association, an event he’s attended for years at this point. While there, he offered a take on the infamous round of terror attacks in Paris, France, in November 2015 that has left the French government itself no choice but to condemn him.
The president’s idea, as expressed to NRA convention attendees, is that the 2015 Paris attacks, perpetrated by the Islamic State, could have been stopped if only there had been a prevalence of firearms among those who were in the vicinity of the attacks that fateful night.
In response, French foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll commented:
‘France expresses its firm disapproval of the comments by President Trump about the attacks of November 13, 2015 in Paris and asks for respect of the memory of the victims.’
The round of attacks that hit Paris on November 13, 2015, left 130 people dead and numerous others wounded. Attackers affiliated with the Islamic State took on a number of targets across the city at the same time, including a concert and multiple restaurants. Besides shooting large numbers of people, some of the attackers also blew themselves up.
For the U.S. president to suggest that a “good guy with a gun” could have stopped the round of carnage that hit Paris that night is beyond questionable; it’s ludicrous and shows a callous disregard for the reality of the situation in favor of scoring ideological points.
The French government issued their rebuke of the U.S. president after a leader of a survivors’ group and former French government officials had already taken similar steps.
Philippe Duperron, president of the survivors association 13onze15, commented:
‘We are outraged by this level of indecency. Alas, no weapon would have changed the outcome because there were suicide bombers wearing explosive belts who were going to blow themselves in the places they were attacking.’
A “good guy with a gun” would not have stopped the Islamic State terror group from planning an executing a massive attack on Paris in 2015.
The French president at the time of the attacks, François Hollande, offered his own rebuke of Donald Trump, saying:
‘The shameful comments and obscene antics of Donald Trump say a lot about what he thinks about France and her values. The friendship between our peoples will not be stained by this disrespect and outrageousness. All my thoughts are for the victims of the November 13 attacks.’
The president just recently hosted the current French president, Emmanuel Macron, for what was the first state visit of any foreign head of state during the Trump administration.
This debacle isn’t even the first time that the president has exploited the victims of a terror attack. He has also done so after terror attacks in London, using the opportunity to call for increased restrictions on who is allowed into the United States.
