Former US President Donald Trump had multiple mentions of the recent Uvalde shooting while speaking at the National Rifle Association convention on Friday. Trump’s speech drew flak on social media as some users called it “insensitive” and “repulsive”.

Trump’s appearance at the event, along with other Republican politicians, itself seeded controversy. The event was held just days after more than 20 people were killed at Robb Elementary School in Texas.

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Trump’s tribute to the victims

The victims of the Uvalde school shooting, most of whom were young students, were remembered by the former President but in his own way. Before delivering his speech on Friday, Trump read out the names of everyone who was shot and killed, except the gunman.

With every name that he read out, a loud gong was struck in the background. This happened 21 times, one for each of the victims. Ron Filipowski, a critic of Trump and a US attorney, wrote in a social media post, “They have Trump trying to pronounce and read the names of the dead children while the NRA rings a bell. Disgusting.”

What Trump said about the Salvador Ramos, the Ulvade shooting suspect

Trump’s condemnation of the school shooting was expected, but not at this extreme. 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, who was shot down by law enforcement officers at the elementary school on Tuesday,  was called “pure evil.”

“And while those he slaughtered are now with God in heaven, he will be eternally damned to burn in the fires of hell”, the former President said as the attendees applauded.

Also Read: Donald Trump connects Uvalde shooting to US’ $40 billion aid to Ukraine

Rejection of gun safety reforms

“The existence of evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens… The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens”, Trump said at the NRA event. 

Even though the rejection was not a surprise, Democratic lawmakers said they expected Republicans to at least soften their stance on gun reforms after the Uvalde school shooting.