WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden flew Tuesday to mourn at the site of America’s latest deadly mass shooting, warning that the white supremacist ideology motivating the alleged gunman is tearing the country’s “soul” apart.
In the hastily organized trip to Buffalo, New York, Biden, accompanied by his wife Jill Biden, reprised the wearily familiar role for presidents of consoler-in-chief.
He was to begin by meeting families of the 10 African Americans murdered allegedly by a white gunman in a neighborhood supermarket Saturday.
Also scheduled were meetings with community leaders and first responders, as well as a visit to a makeshift memorial at the supermarket to offer “condolences and comfort to those affected by this tragedy,” a White House official said.
Biden will then deliver a speech that, like so many he’s given, will urge Congress to overcome division on restricting firearms ownership, a constitutionally protected right that has led to there being more guns than people in the world’s richest nation.
After decades of mass shootings in schools, nightclubs, movie theaters and churches, many Americans are numb to each new outrage, while presidents have repeatedly discovered their powerlessness to change laws in the face of a reluctant Congress.
In Saturday’s rampage, the killer wielded an AR-15, a military style weapon which has been used repeatedly in mass shootings around the country while at the same time being one of the most popular rifles for legitimate gun enthusiasts.
Having long campaigned unsuccessfully to ban assault-style rifles, Biden will once more demand laws to “keep weapons of war off our streets,” the White House official said.
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