President Trump attacked the media Monday morning before his scheduled speech on the weekend’s two mass shootings.
“The Media has a big responsibility to life and safety in our Country,” he wrote on Twitter. “Fake News has contributed greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years. News coverage has got to start being fair, balanced and unbiased, or these terrible problems will only get worse!”
Attacking the media is a familiar tactic for Trump, who recently disparaged “crazed” coverage of a chant at his rally and has even been hitting his favorite network, Fox News.
The president is scheduled to speak Monday morning at 10 a.m. ET to address the two mass shootings that took place over the weekend.
At least 29 people were killed and dozens more injured in the past 24 hours in shootings at a Walmart and mall in El Paso, Texas, and at a bar in Dayton, Ohio. They massacres came on the heels of a shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California that killed three people last week.
On Monday morning, the Murdoch-owned New York Post used its front page and a stirring editorial to call for him to ban “weapons of war.”
Beyond his tweet about the media, Trump also wrote about gun control Monday. He tweeted, “We cannot let those killed in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, die in vain. Likewise for those so seriously wounded. We can never forget them, and those many who came before them. Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks, perhaps marrying this legislation with desperately needed immigration reform,” he continued. “We must have something good, if not GREAT, come out of these two tragic events!”