Hours after El Paso shooting, Trump seen smiling and clapping at wedding reception at his Bedminster golf club
Only hours after the Saturday mass shooting at El Paso, Texas, Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son, Barron Trump, dropped by at a wedding reception at the president's National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Some pictures from the ceremony were posted on Instagram by wedding DJs, Trio DJs. In one of the photos, Trump is seen smiling and clapping while standing next to the bride. In another picture, the POTUS was seen giving a thumbs-up as he and his wife posed for photos with the bride, identified as Alyssa, and her husband, Alexander, and other wedding guests.
In yet another candid snap, Barron was seen looking the other way near a doorway, as he stood with his mother, who wore a sleeveless red dress.
These pictures were captured by Long Island-based wedding photographer Jennifer Lam, who wrote on Instagram that the couple "danced the night away at their Trump National Golf Course reception," after getting married at a church.
“The bride and groom and their guests even got to meet the President and First Lady as they were having dinner on their property!” Lam quipped.
According to the New York Post, attendees at the wedding ceremony could be heard yelling "U-S-A" in a video. Something similar happened on July 20, when Trump dropped by a “Make America Great Again (MAGA)”-themed wedding of two of his supporters at the same golf club. At the time, the newlyweds stood by either side of the commander-in-chief, fist-pumping the air as a herd of photographers clicked away. Some photos also showed the POTUS stopping by the bridal suite to talk to the couple prior to dropping by their reception.
The mass shooting in El Paso, which took place just hours before members of the first family showed up at the reception on Saturday, left 20 dead. Patrick Crusius, 21, the suspected gunman was captured at the scene.
The shooting has been labeled an act of domestic terrorism by the investigators and prosecutors are considering hate crime charges against him.
Trump did not appear before the press following the shooting and did so hours later on Sunday, when he and Melania were preparing to fly back from New Jersey to Washington, D.C.
Instead of making a formal statement, he tweeted: "Terrible shootings in ElPaso [sic], Texas. Reports are very bad, many killed. Working with State and Local authorities, and Law Enforcement. Spoke to Governor to pledge total support of Federal Government. God be with you all!"
In another tweet later that night, he added: "Today’s shooting in El Paso, Texas, was not only tragic, it was an act of cowardice. I know that I stand with everyone in this Country to condemn today’s hateful act. There are no reasons or excuses that will ever justify killing innocent people. Melania and I send our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the great people of Texas."