Donald Trump Claims That Doctors Were Coming Out Of El Paso Operating Rooms To Greet Him, Hospital Denies It
Donald Trump claimed that doctors were coming out of emergency rooms to greet him when he visited an El Paso hospital following the recent mass shooting in the city. A spokesperson for the hospital denies it.
As Yahoo! News reports, on Wednesday Trump lashed out at reports that claimed he didn’t get a particularly warm welcome in El Paso.
“When I went to Dayton and when I went to El Paso, and I went into those hospitals, the love for me – and ‘me’ maybe as the representative of the country – but for me, and my love for them was unparalleled, these are incredible people. But if you read the papers, it was like nobody would meet with me,” Trump said.
In El Paso, as reported by The Inquisitr, the reaction to Trump’s presence at University Medical Center, where several victims of the shooting had been or were being treated, was tepid at best. Several victims and their families refused to allow Trump into their rooms.
“I think he just came to do a circus,” said a family member of one victim.
Trump also generated criticism for one particular set of photos taken at the hospital, which showed him holding an orphaned baby and giving a thumbs up. As BuzzFeed News reports, the uncle of the baby said the child’s father was a Trump supporter.
I met many incredible people in Dayton, Ohio & El Paso, Texas yesterday. Their communities are strong and unbreakable. @potus and I stand with you! pic.twitter.com/SHzV6zcVKR
— Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) August 8, 2019
Trump lashed out at the idea that the welcome he received at the Dayton and El Paso hospitals was anything but warm.
“Not only did they meet with me, they were pouring out of the rooms. The doctors were coming out of the operating rooms. There were hundreds and hundreds of people all over the floor, you couldn’t even walk on it,” he said.
In a statement, University Medical Center spokesperson Ryan Mielke said that doctors did not walk out of operating rooms to meet Trump.
“Our priority is always patient care,” Mielke said.
In Dayton, the welcome Trump received at Miami Valley Hospital was reportedly somewhat warmer than it was in El Paso, but still in contrast to how Trump described it.
As USA Today reports, at the time of his visit, Trump described being greeted like a “rock star” at the hospital, where victims of the Dayton mass shooting were being treated. Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown described the victims and first responders as having been grateful and comforted by Trump’s visit. However, Trump, in a later series of tweets, accused Brown and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley for “mis-characterizing” his visit.
