Donald Trump is Air Force One-ing off to Dayton and El Paso today so he can bring the nation together and comfort the wounded and the families of those killed in the two mass shootings over the weekend. He will meet with law enforcement and praise their quick response, then go to hospitals to mug and flash a thumbs-up sign while standing with doctors and wounded patients -- all of whom have been carefully screened to make sure they won't say anything embarrassing. Also, please ignore the local leaders who aren't all that crazy about his visits, because they're just trying to score political points.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley has been openly skeptical about the value of Trump's visit, but said she will meet with him in her "official capacity" as the city's mayor. If he finds his way to Dayton, not Toledo. But nah, she's not expecting a lot of healing.

Whaley added she found Trump's teleprompter speech Monday less than inspiring, saying the remarks "fell really short. He mentioned gun issues like one time. I think watching the president over the past few years on the issue of guns, I don't know if he knows what he believes, frankly."

Oh, and a little update on that speech, via CNN: According to an anonymous person familiar with the situation, the single line condemning white supremacy was added to the speech at the last minute. But you'd better not believe that source, says White House designated press liar Stephanie Grisham:

At the direction of the President, condemning white supremacy was in every draft of the speech. I would challenge whoever says otherwise to have the courage to go on the record with their lies.

So there was one draft, then, got it.

In El Paso, Trump can expect a similarly mixed reception, which he'll insist was universally warm and joyful. At least this time he didn't preview the trip to meet with grieving relatives and wounded victims by predicting he'd have some fun, as he did before "comforting" survivors of the school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, last year. El Paso Mayor Dee Margo, like Whaley, emphasized he would meet with Trump, mayor-to-"president," to discuss coordinating local and federal response to the shootings, just as he would with whoever might be getting off the big white and blue 747.

Margo added that he would "continue to challenge any harmful and inaccurate statements made about El Paso," and in case you were wondering what he meant, that would probably be a reference to Donald Trump's slob picnic in El Paso, when trump screamed Rape! Murder! It's just a WALL away!

Gosh, why would anyone in El Paso be hesitant about welcoming the Great Man whose campaign rally discourse differs from the shooter's online rant only slightly? Trump's campaign, we should add, still owes the city $569,204.63 for police and other public safety services from that February trip.

Yesterday, US Rep. Veronica Escobar, who was elected in 2018 to fill the El Paso congressional seat formerly held by Beto O'Rourke, said she'd turned down a chance to ride in Trump's motorcade after White House staff said she couldn't meet with him to discuss his racist language about Mexicans and immigrants. Trump was too busy to talk about how his words have real effects, so Escobar will be elsewhere.

Rep. Escobar also spoke to MSNBC's Chris Hayes last night, repeating that she would really like to meet with Trump although that's not likely to happen. She also said that while she was meeting with wounded El Pasoans at a hospital, some asked her to pass on a message: "Tell him not to come here."

El Paso Victims On Donald Trump: 'Tell Him Not To Come Here' | All In | MSNBCwww.youtube.com

We doubt any of those survivors will be meeting with Trump today. The only people who have a problem with his immigration rhetoric are political opponents who are trying to score cheap points from a tragedy, and Escobar probably made those people up anyway. Still, at least we can hope that at some point during his El Paso visit, someone will hand him a copy of the invoice for that half million dollars his campaign owes the city.

At one of his helicopter press scrums this morning, Trump insisted no real people in Dayton or El Paso are criticizing his rhetoric, only political opponents who have very low ratings. As for his talk of "invasion," well, he would like you to know that he is completely right about illegal immigration:

As for the national healing Trump will take with him to both cities, CNN reminds us what a great consoler the man is. One of the survivors of the Parkland shooting recalls her own meeting with President thumbs-up last year:

"I can't say I was consoled or helped," Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School senior Samantha Fuentes said after meeting with Trump following the shooting at the Florida school. In that session, Trump spoke about the shooter being a "sick puppy" and used the phrase "oh, boy" about eight times, said Fuentes, who was wounded in both legs.

We bet the folks in both cities can look forward to Trump telling them all about how the Dayton shooter liked Elizabeth Warren and Antifa, too. Or maybe he'll remember to look at his notes and say,

1. What would you most want me to know about your experience? 2. What can we do to help you feel safe? 3. Do you [blocked by finger] see some [blocked by finger] something [blocked by finger] effective? 4. resources? ideas? 5. I hear you.

Oh, boy.

[Vox / CNN / Texas Tribune / Guardian]

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