President Donald Trump says the nation must reform mental health laws to better identify “mentally disturbed individuals” after two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio this weekend killed at least 29 people.
The Republican president avoided blaming guns for the killings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. He said at the White House on Monday, “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun.”
The Ohio shooter killed his sister and eight others and wounded 27 more before he was shot dead by police. Authorities say the El Paso shooter posted a racist, anti-immigrant manifesto before killing 20 and wounding 26 others and being taken into custody.
Trump blames a culture in which violent video games and “dark recesses” of social media contribute to radicalizing perpetrators of mass shootings. He did not make any mention of his own involvement on social media or his racist tweets aimed at Democratic members of Congress.
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—31 people were killed in two U.S. shootings—and it could have been worse
—Trump says he wants stronger gun checks—but he’s reneged in the past
—2020 Democrats lay blame on trump’s rhetoric for shootings
—Trump tweets, stays out of sight for hours after shootings
—El Paso shooting is ‘act of terrorism’ against Mexicans, Mexico says
—El Paso shooting death toll rises to 22
