Historically speaking, when a nation suffers a tragedy–a mass shooting, a terrible earthquake, a humanitarian disaster–world leaders offer condolences. They attempt, at the very least, to assuage fears, to pray, to be the sympathetic speak piece for their citizenry. In a time of calamity, presidents and prime ministers show solidarity with one another and with their respective peoples. Ironically, tragedies connect people, as people grieve for other people, no matter the flag they wave. Everyone recognizes loss.

Not so for Donald Trump. When disaster strikes a nation not named America, Trump preens his feathers–primarily on Twitter–asking rhetorical questions and subtly hinting that such things simply would not happen on his watch.

On Thursday morning an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo went missing. Sixty-six people were on board the flight, which has been confirmed to have crashed in the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek island of Crete. And while signs are pointing to a terrorist attack, nothing concrete has been announced.

Trump–a man who waves off facts like they’re a bad business deal–saw this as an opportunity to present himself as the iron fisted leader that would apparently strike down insidious plots that even the world’s leading intelligence officials struggle with. Hours after the plane was announced missing, Trump took to his go-to megaphone, Twitter:

Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris. When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2016

No mention of prayer. No mention of shared suffering. No nod to the losses dealt to 66 families. No sign of humanity. No cautioned stance due to a lack of facts. Just a self-serving, speculative burst of nonsense. The only fact to be found: “Airplane departed from Paris.”

Some may argue that a 140-character shot of sympathy and solidarity is hardly the most genuine sign of love and oneness in the world. And they are correct, in a sense. But when Trump wakes up in his Mar-a-Lago mansion, scans Twitter and sees a plane that left Paris for Cairo is missing, his reaction is to deem it a terrorist attack and posture himself as the theoretical savior. It’s telling that it doesn’t even cross his mind to shoot out a tweet recognizing the victims or their families or their home countries. He just narrows his gaze, tightens his mouth, and puffs his chest.

This is not the first time Trump has responded to a tragedy in such a way.

Following the mass shooting in Paris in January 2015–when 17 people were murdered, including members of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo–Trump thrust the spotlight on gun control, using the episode as proof gun control doesn’t equal less violence:

Isn’t it interesting that the tragedy in Paris took place in one of the toughest gun control countries in the world?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2015

After 32 people were killed in Brussels in March, bombed in an airport terminal and a subway, Trump let this tweet go:

Do you all remember how beautiful and safe a place Brussels was. Not anymore, it is from a different world! U.S. must be vigilant and smart!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2016

While he did follow that up with an empathetic message to the victims (though not without his own stamp: “This madness must be stopped, and I will stop it.”), he again posited his own agenda ahead of any mention of non-American lives lost.

This is the man who could lead the most powerful country in the world. If elected president in November, he is the symbol of America’s well of empathy, of its heart. Does America’s heart bleed when another nation’s does? Does America shed a tear when another nation suffers? Trump is promising to make this country great again, but it can’t be great unless its supposed leader grieves with everyone else.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post When the World Sees Grief, Trump Sees Gain appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to the RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through the top five controversial and crazy stories in the world of law and policy each day. So who is ranting and who is raving today? Check it out below:

Ugh, George Zimmerman Actually Sold the Gun

Last week we talked about how atrocious it was that George Zimmerman was trying to auction off the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin. While the original auction Zimmerman set up was taken down, he successfully sold the weapon through the United Gun Group. Some sources report that the final offer was almost $140,000,  but it’s unclear if that was legitimate information. However according to United Gun Group, it appears to have certainly been sold:

pic.twitter.com/wYTCTcIjJZ

— United Gun Group (@UnitedGunGroup) May 18, 2016

What Happened to Egypt Air MS804? Trump is Certain He Knows

Tragically, Egypt Air MS804 disappeared late last night, en route from Paris to Cairo. The flight was carrying 66 people and disappeared close to Greece. While circumstances are unknown, the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has of course proclaimed he knows exactly what’s going on: terrorism.

Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris. When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2016

While terrorism may very well  be the cause, do we really want a president who jumps to conclusions so publicly?

Speaking of Trump…

If you want to read a truly badass rant today, check out Robert Kagan’s piece in the Washington Post on Trump’s rise entitled “This is How Facism Comes to America.” It’s a powerful look at how Trump’s rhetoric and machismo threaten to take over the country. As Kagan points out:

And is a man like Trump, with infinitely greater power in his hands, likely to become more humble, more judicious, more generous, less vengeful than he is today, than he has been his whole life? Does vast power un-corrupt?

Context is Always Important, Guys

People got pretty mad at rapper Waka Flocka Flame after he posted a video on his Snapchat of a little girl locked in a dog cage. The little girl is crying, and the rapper jokes about “bonding her out.”
Social media followers, of course, immediately exploded in anger, claiming that he had committed some sort of child abuse.

But don’t worry, it turns out the little girl was just his niece who had locked herself in by accident, and Waka was just letting her out. He also posted a pretty angry response video, pointing out that he absolutely does not lock children in cages.

We Need to Work on Our Civics Education

Puerto Rico has been in the news a lot lately over its financial troubles. But it turns out that a terrifyingly large chunk of Americans don’t know that Puerto Rico is actually a U.S. territory. Only 43 percent of Americans know that Puerto Ricans are actually American citizens.

Rant Crush

RantCrush collects the top trending topics in the law and policy world each day just for you.

The post RantCrush Top 5: May 19, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.