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!”
Mass Shootings in America That Horrified All of Us (Photos)
Newtown, Conn. - On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. They were between the ages of six and seven years old. He also killed six adult staff members.
John Moore/Getty Images
Washington D.C. — A former Navy reservist shot and killed 12 people on September 16, 2013, at a military facility. The gunman was killed.
Getty Images
Tyrone, Mo. - On Feb. 27, 2015, Joseph Jesse Aldridge killed seven people — four of them relatives — in a door-to-door shooting spree before killing himself.
Getty Images
Waco, Tex. - Nine people were killed and many more were injured after two biker gangs began firing at each other at a motorcycle club on May 17, 2015.
Getty Images
Charleston, S.C. - Dylann Roof shot and killed nine people during a racially motivated shooting in a predominantly African-American church on June 17, 2015.
Getty Images
Chattanooga, Tenn. - A gunman named Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez entered two military facilities on July 16, 2015, and killed four Marines and injured others, before he was killed.
Getty Images
Umpqua, Ore. - On October 1, 2015, Chris Harper Mercer killed nine people and injured seven to nine more at Umpqua Community College before two police officers shot him. Mercer then committed suicide.
Getty Images
San Bernardino, Calif. - 14 people were killed and another 21 injured after Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik opened fire during a holiday party on December 2, 2015. The pair were later killed during a shootout with police.
Getty Images
Orlando, Fla. - 50 people were killed and 53 wounded on June 11, 2016, at Pulse, a gay nightclub. Just before the shooting, suspected killer Omar Mateen called 911 and pledged his allegiance to the terror group ISIS. Mateen was also shot an killed by police on the scene.
Gerardo Mora/Getty Images
1 of 9
TheWrap looks back at recent mass shootings that have happened on U.S. soil
Newtown, Conn. - On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. They were between the ages of six and seven years old. He also killed six adult staff members.