EL PASO, Texas (WTHR) – Following their visit to a hospital in El Paso, where many victims and residents protested and refused to meet with them, President Trump and First Lady Melania are causing controversy because they posed for a photo with a baby who is now orphaned due to the mass shooting.
In the photo posted on the FLOTUS Twitter account, the president and the first lady smile and show a thumbs up while posing with a baby whose parents were killed while shielding their child during the shooting at an El Paso Walmart.
"I met many incredible people in Dayton, Ohio & El Paso, Texas yesterday. Their communities are strong and unbreakable. @potus and I stand with you!" FLOTUS wote on Twitter.
CNN's Jim Acosta reports that the child was discharged from the hospital after being treated for broken bones and brought back to meet the president.
On Twitter, Acosta says that a University Medical Center hospital official said that Trump showed “an absence of empathy” during his visit to El Paso.
According to reports, the 2-month-old boy's mother Jordan and father 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.
Since the photo op was shared on social media, many Twitter users have responded with disappointment and disgust.
John Jamrowski, the grandfather of Jordan Anchondo, told AP he received an early-morning phone call Wednesday from a hospital inviting his family to schedule a meeting with the president. Jamrowski said he declined in an effort to stay out of the political fray and avoid misinterpretations. “We’re politically neutral,” he said Friday. “We discussed it as a family and said, ‘You know what, this could be spun around.'”
Jamrowski declined comment about the photo of his great-grandson.
