Donald Trump Calls For Social Media To Help “Detect Mass Shooters Before They Strike,” Confuses Dayton, Ohio With City Of Toledo During Speech

Instead of suggesting stricter gun laws, Donald Trump feels social media should lend a helping hand in fighting mass shootings.

This past weekend, in less than 24 hours, two young white men opened fire on innocent people, leaving more than 30 dead in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. On Monday, during a press conference about the last two shootings, Trump said, “We must do a better job of identifying and acting on early warning signs,” and suggested social media companies develop new ways of catching “red flags.”

“I am directing the Department of Justice to work in partnership with local state and federal agencies, as well as social media companies, to develop tools that can detect mass shooters before they strike,” Trump said in the speech.

Trump did not give details on what said “tools” he was referring to, but it is likely that he is suggesting some sort of software that can predict when a person is probably about to commit a crime based on the information on their social media platform. However, if it were to go through as a plan of action, that would mean officials taking action before the potential crimes are committed. While data-mining tools are greatly used, it would be a privacy issue if imposed onto regular, everyday users.

Just before the conference, Trump implied that the news greatly “contributed greatly to the anger and rage” in the United States, but later used his time at the podium to condemn “gruesome and grizzly video games that are now commonplace,” saying they create a culture that “celebrates violence.” He also bypassed a question about gun control and called for bipartisan work on “strong background checks” but suggested tying it to changes in immigration law.

Also, during the speech, Trump made the mistake of confusing the locations of the two domestic terrorist attacks. One was located in Dayton, Ohio, but instead, Trump referred to Toledo, Ohio during his speech in which he condemned the “monstrous evil” that left at least 30 dead. “May God bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo, may God protect them. May God protect all of those from Texas to Ohio. May God bless the victims and their families,” Trump said from the White House.

How early y’all waking up to vote this boy out?

Trump’s close in his speech where he calls Dayton “Toledo” pic.twitter.com/q9WbFYsIQh

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) August 5, 2019