Following their visit to a hospital in El Paso where many victims of a mass shooting refused to meet with them, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are under fire for posing for a photo--both smiling, and the president giving a thumbs up--with a baby orphaned in the massacre.
The photo was posted to the first lady's official @FLOTUS Twitter account, one of four pictures with the caption "I met many incredible people in Dayton, Ohio & El Paso, Texas yesterday. Their communities are strong and unbreakable. @potus and I stand with you!"
CNN's Jim Acosta reports that the child, who was shielded by both parents who lost their lives in the shooting, was discharged from the hospital after being treated for broken bones and brought back to meet the president.
Acosta also says that a University Medical Center hospital official said that Trump showed “an absence of empathy” during his visit to El Paso.
The 2-month-old boy's parents, Jordan and Andre Anchondo, were both shot to death while back to school shopping at the store.
Jordan, a mother of three, and Andre had dropped off their 5-year old daughter at cheerleading practice before going to shop for school supplies on Saturday at the Walmart. The Associated Press spoke to Jordan's sister, Leta Jamrowski, who said, "From the baby's injuries, they said that more than likely my sister was trying to shield him."
"So when she got shot she was holding him and she fell on him, so that's why he broke some of his bones. So he pretty much lived because she gave her life." Jamrowski said.
A reporter for ABC Internacional, David Alandete, tweeted that he interviewed the child's grandfather, who said the White House sent two people to his home to ask him to be there with the baby.
Alandate says the baby was brought back to the hospital by his grandparents, who say the president was "kind and sympathetic."
NPR reports that the baby's uncle and late father were both Trump supporters.
Even so, some on social media have responded with disappointment and disgust, slamming the Trumps for using the baby as a "prop."