Shortly after Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley (D) concluded their press conference following President Donald Trump’s visit to Miami Valley Hospital Wednesday, White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino took aim at the Ohio officials on Twitter.
..The President was treated like a Rock Star inside the hospital, which was all caught on video. They all loved seeing their great President!
— Dan Scavino Jr.?? (@Scavino45) August 7, 2019
Scavino also said Trump was treated like a “rock star” when he met with victims of the mass shooting in Dayton.
About an hour after Scavino’s tweets, Trump echoed his social media director’s sentiments.
….misrepresenting what took place inside of the hospital. Their news conference after I left for El Paso was a fraud. It bore no resemblance to what took place with those incredible people that I was so lucky to meet and spend time with. They were all amazing!o
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2019
Trump then tweeted photos from his so-called “rock star” reception at the Ohio hospital.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2019
It’s unclear why Scavino and Trump directed their ire at Brown and Whaley. When Brown had mentioned at the press conference that Trump was “comforting” and that “he did the right things” during the hospital visit, Whaley added that “the victims and the first responders were grateful” for his visit.
Brown and Whaley said they urged Trump to call on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to bring the Senate back to session this week to pass background checks on assault weapons.
“I asked the President to promise to me and to the American people that he will sign that [background checks] bill after he’s spoken out in support of it with Sen. McConnell,” Brown said. “He only said that ‘we will get things done.'”
Earlier Wednesday, Brown announced he would meet with Trump in Dayton in the wake of a deadly shooting that left nine dead, including the suspected gunman. Brown noted that he had “wrestled with the right thing to do” during Trump’s visit.
Brown’s decision to meet with Trump was a reversal of his position on Tuesday, when he said he wouldn’t meet with the President due to Trump’s “racist rhetoric” and “total unwillingness” to address gun control.
