President referred to Toledo, not Dayton, in his remarks on the recent massacres – not the first time he has confused shooting sites

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Donald Trump has been widely criticized for confusing Dayton, the site of one of this weekend’s shootings in which nine people were killed, with another Ohio city, Toledo.

Trump blames 'glorification of violence' but not guns after mass shootings Read more

In his remarks at the White House, Trump said: “May God bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo; may God protect them. May God protect all of those from Texas to Ohio. May God bless the victims and their families.”

Trump’s statement on the shootings on Monday – his first since two weekend mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton claimed the lives of 31 people – was also quickly criticized for downplaying the role of white supremacy and lenient gun laws in the massacres.

Following Trump’s Toledo mistake, the Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Tim Ryan, who represents Ohio’s 13th district in the House, tweeted this:

Tim Ryan (@TimRyan) Toledo. Fck me.

But it is only the most recent instance of Trump misidentifying the location of a mass shooting. In November 2017, a message from Trump’s Twitter account read: “May God be w/ the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas. The FBI and Law Enforcement has arrived.”

But the Sutherland Springs shooting had actually occurred days before. It seemed that Trump was trying to reference a more recent attack on the Rancho Tehama elementary school in northern California.

Manu Raju (@mkraju) Trump's close in his speech where he calls Dayton "Toledo" pic.twitter.com/q9WbFYsIQh

The Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also misidentified the locations of both shootings while speaking to donors on Sunday night.

The former vice-president expressed sorrow about “the tragic events in Houston today and also in Michigan the day before”, according to a pool report. He later corrected himself.