Ohio governor proposes adopting “red flag” law
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine released a list of 10 items he is asking the state legislature to consider to reduce gun violence.

Governor Mike DeWine talks to the press. Photograph: Ernest Coleman/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock
Two days after the governor was confronted with shouts of “Do something!” in Dayton, he announced at a press conference that he wanted lawmakers to pass a “red flag law,” which allows courts to take guns from people who are deemed dangerous.
“Some in the crowd were angry,” DeWine said of those who confronted him in Dayton. “They should be angry.” He added, “They chanted ‘Do something,’ and they are absolutely right.”
The governor is also asking the legislature to consider enacting background checks for all gun sales, except for those between family members.
Updated
Foreign countries are warning their citizens about travel to the US after this weekend’s pair of shootings that killed 31 people, the LA Times reports.
Uruguay’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement warning about “growing indiscriminate violence” in the US, urging Uruguayans to avoid “theme parks, shopping centers, festivals, religious events, gastronomic fairs and any kind of cultural or sporting events.”
The Japanese Consul in Detroit advised Japanese nationals to “be aware of the potential for gunfire incidents everywhere in the United States,” describing the country as “a gun society.”
Trump plans to visit El Paso tomorrow as it mourns the loss of 22 members of its community, but the president’s reelection campaign still owes the city more than $500,000.
Trump held a February rally at an El Paso arena, and according to the Center for Public Integrity, the campaign has an unpaid balance to the city of $569,204.
“It’s ridiculous and unconscionable. The city of El Paso is an economically challenged community,” said El Paso County Commissioner Dave Stout, who “adamantly” opposes Trump visiting.
“He’s going to be throwing salt into the wound — a very, very deep wound,” Stout said. “And this community needs healing, not Donald Trump.”
Updated
2020 Democrats slam the New York Times over its headline on Trump’s statement
The New York Times was forced to change the front-page headline of today’s paper amid intense backlash over how it portrayed Trump’s statement on the shootings.
The original headline read: “TRUMP URGES UNITY VS. RACISM.” Many Twitter commentators complained that the wording fed Trump’s claim that those who called out his anti-immigrant rhetoric in the wake of the El Paso shooting were playing politics.
The headline first gained widespread attention when it was tweeted out by FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver:
Nate Silver
(@NateSilver538)Tomorrow’s NYT print edition.
Not sure “TRUMP URGES UNITY VS. RACISM” is how I would have framed the story. pic.twitter.com/quOibXsp32
As Silver’s tweet was being reshared thousands of times, the Times changed the headline for the second print edition to, “ASSAILING HATE BUT NOT GUNS.” A Times spokesperson acknowledged to the Washington Post, “The headline was bad and has been changed for the second edition.”
Tom Jolly
(@TomJolly)Tomorrow’s @nytimes tonight, second edition: @realDonaldTrump assails hate but not guns; China employs currency in trade feud, jolting markets. #nytimes pic.twitter.com/1fD4pVEbaF
But it seems the damage had already been done. Many prominent Democrats, including several presidential candidates, took to Twitter to accuse the Times of distorting Trump’s teleprompter address. And some people even threatened to cancel their subscriptions.
From presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand:
Kirsten Gillibrand
(@SenGillibrand)That’s not what happened. https://t.co/m6eIZOARcZ
From Cory Booker:
Cory Booker
(@CoryBooker)Lives literally depend on you doing better, NYT. Please do. https://t.co/L4CpCb8zLi
Beto O’Rourke, who used to represent part of El Paso in the House, offered a one-word response:
Beto O’Rourke
(@BetoORourke)Unbelievable. https://t.co/rLgaacttDS
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is also running for president, mocked the Times using a tagline from its ads:
Bill de Blasio
(@BilldeBlasio)Hey, @nytimes — what happened to “The Truth Is Worth It?”
Not the truth.
Not worth it. pic.twitter.com/N5tMTEoLln
And Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued that the botched headline represented how institutions often aid white supremacy:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
(@AOC)Let this front page serve as a reminder of how white supremacy is aided by – and often relies upon – the cowardice of mainstream institutions. https://t.co/ynjgtT66yI
Updated
Trump criticizes Obama after the former president calls on Americans to reject hateful rhetoric
Good morning, live blog readers!
Donald Trump has already been tweeting for a couple of hours already, and he is offering the American people this important message: don’t blame him.
Donald J. Trump
(@realDonaldTrump)“It’s political season and the election is around the corner. They want to continue to push that racist narrative.” @ainsleyearhardt @foxandfriends And I am the least racist person. Black, Hispanic and Asian Unemployment is the lowest (BEST) in the history of the United States!
He also cited a “Fox & Friends” segment to specifically call out Barack Obama, who issued a statement urging Americans to “soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments.”
Donald J. Trump
(@realDonaldTrump)“Did George Bush ever condemn President Obama after Sandy Hook. President Obama had 32 mass shootings during his reign. Not many people said Obama is out of Control. Mass shootings were happening before the President even thought about running for Pres.” @kilmeade @foxandfriends
In his own robotic statement yesterday addressing the shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Trump called on the nation to “condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy.” But he has clearly not taken kindly to the argument made by many that his own anti-immigrant rhetoric has intensified racist sentiments in the country. (The El Paso suspect posted an anti-immigrant screed online before killing 22 at a Walmart.)
Trump has done this sort of walk-back on condemning racism before. Just last month, he initially said he was “unhappy” when some attendees of his North Carolina rally broke out in a racist “send her back” chant about Representative Ilhan Omar. But he later referred to attendees of the rally as “incredible patriots.”
When it comes to racism in America, it seems Trump is most bothered by any insinuation that the rhetoric or, in this week’s case, fatal violence is any reflection upon him.

Donald Trump arrives with Vice President Mike Pence to make a statement at the White House. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock
Here are a few other things the blog is keeping its eye on:
- Trump has no events on his public schedule today, so expect the tweeting to continue.
- Mike Pence is meeting with the British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, at 4:30 p.m. EDT.
- More than a dozen national groups are holding a rally in Washington’s Lafayette Park, just in front of the White House, to demand action on gun violence at 12 p.m. EDT.
That’s all still coming up, so stay tuned.