Trump Scorned For Tweeting About World Series Hours After Synagogue Massacre
Mere hours after a deadly mass shooting at a Pennsylvania synagogue, President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday night to talk about baseball.
The president, who’d apparently tuned in to watch Game 4 of the World Series, called out Los Angeles Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts in his late night posting. The Dodgers lost the game to the Boston Red Sox, 9-6, after having a 4-0 lead, and Trump questioned Roberts’ managerial moves.
Watching the Dodgers/Red Sox final innings. It is amazing how a manager takes out a pitcher who is loose & dominating through almost 7 innings, Rich Hill of Dodgers, and brings in nervous reliever(s) who get shellacked. 4 run lead gone. Managers do it all the time, big mistake!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 28, 2018
Some supporters said Trump — who has a history of tweeting about sports — saw nothing wrong with Trump commenting on the World Series despite the tragedy earlier in the day ― a shooting that stands as one of the most lethal attacks targeting the Jewish community in U.S. history.
But many Twitter users accused the president of insensitivity, given that a gunman had killed at least 11 people and wounded six others at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“As a guy living in Pittsburgh, let me just ask: is watching the World Series really the best use of your time this evening?” one Twitter user responded to Trump.
Hey, as a guy living in Pittsburgh, let me just ask: is watching the #WorldSeries really the best use of your time this evening? Even if it’s what you care most about, do you think it’s any solace to the families of those killed today to know that THIS is what’s on your mind?
— Alex O'Hara (@Operative_Me) October 28, 2018
The president’s hometown newspaper, the New York Daily News, also chastised the baseball tweet.
“Trump felt the need to weigh in on the World Series on a day when the president should have had much more pressing issues to attend to,” the paper’s sports staff wrote in an editorial.
On a tragic day in America, President Donald Trump felt the need to tweet about the #WorldSeries: https://t.co/E0YJIFGq3B pic.twitter.com/FH7Klcq2CQ
— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) October 28, 2018
Here are some of the other comments:
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I can't believe this is real. On the day of a mass shooting, Trump goes a rally and live tweets the #WorldSeries game.
What a time to be alive. https://t.co/SVf1m4SIfQ— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) October 28, 2018
How about you leave your current position and look into managing a baseball team or two...
— La'Devis (@la_devis) October 28, 2018
I think you meant to say:
I am having a real difficult time sleeping tonight. The horrible events of today are weighing heavily on my mind. I can’t help but to take some of the blame for this terrible politically charged time we are in. I’m sorry and I will do better.— Frank Williams (@fkwilliams207) October 28, 2018
As for Roberts, he pushed back against Trump’s criticism, saying that while he was happy the president had tuned in to watch the game, his remarks were but “one man’s opinion.”
Trump has repeatedly come under scrutiny in recent days for his responses to news events.
On Friday, the same day a man was arrested in connection with bombs sent to several prominent Democrats and Trump critics, the president was criticized for bashing the media and “Crooked Hillary Clinton” at a North Carolina rally.
His remarks prompted the crowd to chant “CNN sucks!” and “lock her up!” Both CNN and Clinton were targets of the bomb mailings last week.
The president was also lambasted for joking about wanting to cancel two public engagements on Saturday — not because of the mass shooting but out of vanity.
“I said, ‘Maybe I should cancel this arrangement because I have a bad hair day,’” Trump said at the Future Farmers of America Convention in Indianapolis, where he appeared after the shooting. “And the bad news ― somebody said, ‘Actually it looks better than it usually does.’”
Dear Donald: 11 people were brutally murdered today in Pittsburgh. And all you can find to do is go to a campaign rally, make jokes about almost canceling it because of bad hair, and then tweet about a pitching decision in the World Series.
Your a sad case for a POTUS.— Robin Sue Sanders (@robbysue1) October 28, 2018
Trump jokes that he considered cancelling speech to FFA not b/c of the mass shooting in Pittsburgh, but b/c his hair got wet while talking w/reporters about the shooting.
"At least you know it's mine... I said, 'maybe I should cancel this arrangement b/c I have a bad hair day.'" pic.twitter.com/wLIlqQpENj— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 27, 2018
Trump was also roundly mocked on social media for his suggestion that an armed guard could’ve “stopped” the synagogue shooter, who officials said wielded an assault-style rifle in his rampage.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said Trump addressed the Future Farmers of America Convention in Washington. The locale was Indianapolis.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.