'It was like talking to a toddler’: mother of school shooting victim recounts her meeting with Trump

On Thursday, Donald Trump met privately with some of the parents of students killed at Santa Fe High School in Texas on May 18. Reporters were not allowed inside for the meeting, but some of the parents that met with Trump spoke publicly afterward. According to the Associated Press, they reported a range of experiences. For example, one parent felt Trump showed “sincerity, compassion, and concern on making our schools safer across the nation,” while another mother felt … underwhelmed by the encounter.

Rhonda Hart, whose 14-year-old daughter, Kimberly Vaughan, was killed at the school, told The Associated Press that Trump repeatedly used the word ‘wacky’ to describe the shooter and the trench coat he wore. She said she told Trump, “Maybe if everyone had access to mental health care, we wouldn’t be in the situation.”

Hart, an Army veteran, said she also suggested employing veterans as sentinels in schools. She said Trump responded, “And arm them?” She replied, “No,” but said Trump “kept mentioning” arming classroom teachers. “It was like talking to a toddler,” Hart said. READ MORE