With House Majority Whip Steve Scalise still recovering in a hospital from a gunshot wound, President Trump gave his children a tour of the White House Thursday night and paid tribute to the injured lawmaker at the annual congressional picnic on the South Lawn.
“The outpouring of support for Steve and his family has been truly inspiring,” Mr. Trump told lawmakers and their families enjoying barbecue.
Mr. Scalise’s children, Harrison and Madison, received the grand tour of the White House before the picnic.
“We gave them the ’A’ tour,” Mr. Trump said to laughter. “You know, sometimes we give the B, the C, the F, the D tour. But we gave them the A tour.”
Mr. Scalise, Louisiana Republican, was wounded by a gunman who opened fire at GOP lawmakers and staffers who were practicing last week for the annual congressional baseball game. Four others were injured, including two Capitol police officers on Mr. Scalise’s security detail who shot the gunman dead.
The president thanked the officers, Crystal Griner and David Bailey, for their “lifesaving actions,” noting that they were armed with handguns while the gunman had a high-powered rifle.
“One of those bullets [fired by the officers] struck at the right place … or that would have been a far worse morning,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump said he wanted to attend the baseball game last week at Nationals Park “so badly,” but the Secret Service advised against it. He said he was proud of the unity displayed by both teams in the annual game.
“It’s our hope that the unity that was displayed that evening can maybe continue to grow and thrive between Republicans and Democrats,” Mr. Trump said. “I think we’d all be doing a lot better and I know the country would be doing a lot better.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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