ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

Everyone’s mocking Trump for saying he ‘would have run into the Florida school without a weapon’

People are making the same important point

Everyone’s mocking Trump for saying he ‘would have run into the Florida school without a weapon’
27 February 2018

As the surviving teens from the Florida school shooting mount an inspiring campaign to confront the US gun lobby and put pressure on lawmakers to bring in much-needed gun control reform, Donald Trump has once again stepped into the debate with a controversial and pretty ridiculous comment.

“I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon,” Trump said in all seriousness at a meeting at the White House yesterday to discuss school safety.

The president went on to attack the initial police response. “The way they performed was frankly disgusting,” he said.

He also defended his plan to arm teachers, saying he only wanted “highly trained people that have a natural talent [for shooting], like hitting a baseball, or hitting a golf ball, or putting” to handle weapons in schools.

The president then developed this weird golf comparison, saying “some people always make the 4-footer, and some people under pressure can’t even take their club back.”

So, he’s talking about how to protect kids from mass slaughter and his go-to reference is… golf. 

And Trump is now being roundly mocked on Twitter, with lots of people making the same important point: Trump had a chance to use a weapon as much as he wanted during the Vietnam War but he (very conveniently) received five deferments from service – four for academic reasons and one for bone spurs (calcium buildups) in his heels.

The group VoteVets said on Twitter: “Please. Just like Donald Trump ran to Vietnam. He hid behind bone spurs in his feet. #CadetBoneSpurs”

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill‏ added: “I believe you, Captain Bone Spurs & I really believe that due to an unexpected write-in vote, I’ll win an Oscar this Sunday. #ItsFunToPretend”

Meanwhile, actor Samuel L Jackson said: “First of all, ‘I really believe I’d run in there,Stop!!! Run??!! Really, hahahahaha, not even if his own kids we’re in there! GTFOH.”

American screenwriter James Gunn imagined how Trump would have spoken about the rescue: “Grabbed my chicken McNuggets they were holding and rushed out. Also, I’d duct-tape eight or nine of the weaker students who had previously made it to my body as a shield before entering. I’m John McClane!”

And there were plenty of other ruthlessly mocking reactions: 

(Image: REX)