'The Only Thing That Matters Right Now': Trump-Supporting Dad's Message to President Goes Viral
A father who lost his daughter in the school shooting last week in Florida has a message for lawmakers: “We need to come together as a country, not different parties, and figure out how we protect the schools. It is simple.”
Alexandra Seltzer, a reporter covering the shooting, tweeted a picture of Andrew Pollack who was searching for his daughter, Meadow, after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and later followed up with him when he found out “she’s gone.” According to The Daily Caller, the father received criticism for wearing a “Trump 2020” shirt.
Pollack was one of many who went to the White House to talk to President Donald Trump about the horrific tragedy and discuss what should be done.
“I’m here because my daughter has no voice,” he began when it was his turn to speak. “She was murdered last week, and she was taken from us, shot nine times on the third floor.”
Pollack called for protection at schools as he told his heart-wrenching story that has since gone viral.
“And we need to come together as a country and work on what’s important. And that is protecting our children in the schools,” he said. “That’s the only thing that matters right now.”
He added, “And if we all work together and come up with the right idea — school safety. It is not about gun laws. That is another fight, another battle. Let’s fix the schools and then you guys can battle it out whatever you want. But we need our children safe.”
In the State Dining Room, parents and students from different school shootings, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, told the president their personal stories and pleaded for him to make their schools safer, NBC News reported.
“I didn’t think it was going to happen to me,” Pollack said. “If I knew that, I would have been at the school every day if I knew it was that dangerous. It’s enough.”
Pollack’s daughter Meadow was one of the 17 people killed during the mass shooting on Feb. 14, according to the Miami Herald.
She was a senior in high school and was planning to attend Lynn University in the fall.
Rabbi Brad Boxman remembered her at her funeral “as a star with ‘a smile like sunshine.'”
Pollack continued Wednesday, “Should have been one school shooting and we should have fixed it. And I’m pissed. Because my daughter I’m not going to see again. She’s not here.”
“It stops here with this administration and me. I’m not going to sleep until it is fixed,” he said. “And Mr. President, we’re going to fix it. Because I’m going to fix it. I’m not going to rest.”
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