#5: I hear you

The man is a narcissistic sociopath. A "sicko".

Mr. Trump has said he believes that understanding and channeling the nation’s grief is a strong suit for him as president, assuring a reporter during his campaign that empathy “will be one of the strongest things about Trump.”

But interactions with some of those involved in the Parkland shooting have not been as successful as those during the White House session.

Samantha Fuentes, who was shot in both legs during the Parkland assault, said she had felt no reassurance during a phone call from the president to her hospital room last week.

“He said he heard that I was a big fan of his, and then he said, ‘I’m a big fan of yours too.’

[...]

“Talking to the president, I’ve never been so unimpressed by a person in my life. He didn’t make me feel better in the slightest.”

Ms. Fuentes, who was left with a piece of shrapnel lodged behind her right eye, said Mr. Trump had called the gunman a “sick puppy” and said “‘oh boy, oh boy, oh boy,’ like, seven times.”

  NYT

For the love of Pete.

She'll be getting a presidential Twitter injury next.

Colleagues said Mr. Trump’s notes on Wednesday were written by Hope Hicks, his communications director and longtime aide, who had briefed the president along with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the press secretary, before he attended the session.

[...]

In private beforehand, Mr. Trump met in the Oval Office with Andrew Pollack, whose 18-year-old daughter, Meadow, was one of the 17 people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week.

“He showed us nothing but love,” Mr. Pollack said in an interview. “The guy really cared, you know? He flew us in, he had a bus waiting for us, he made time for us.”

He fooled you, and you are betraying the life and memory of your child for a few moments of  presidential attention. I'd give you a pass because of your loss, but why do you think he didn't do the same for every parent with the same loss? Why does the special treatment work on you?

Mr. Pollack, who brought his wife, two sons and Meadow’s longtime boyfriend, said Mr. Trump signed his son’s white and gold “Make America Great Again” trucker hat and spoke at length with the family.

I see.  For a few moments of presidential attention and an autograph.

The president insisted that [Pollack] and his family, who had not planned to attend the listening session, accompany him through the iconic White House colonnade and into the event.

[...]

“He just said, ‘You guys are coming with me,’ and we were just talking about life as we walked,” Mr. Pollack said. “He’s a regular guy. I wouldn’t have been there if I didn’t think he cared.”

Sure, pal.

“He took pictures of my daughter that we brought, and he said he was going to look at it every day,” Mr. Pollack said.

Sure, pal.

But another participant in the White House session, Samuel Zeif, an 18-year-old student at Stoneman Douglas High School who survived the shooting and spoke tearfully at the White House on Wednesday of the experience, said Mr. Trump had done little to comfort or console him.

He said he had been particularly stung to see pictures of the notecard after it was over.

“Everything I said was directly from the heart, and he had to write down ‘I hear you,’” Mr. Zeif said in an interview.

[...]

“He may have heard us, but he’s never going to feel what we feel, because his kids are protected by the people that came to save me and my classmates that day,” Mr. Zeif said.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.