Parkland shooting survivor who met with Melania Trump says insulting her over gun control is 'immoral'

Erin Donnelly
·Editor

Melania Trump said she was “heartened to see children affected by tragedy using their voices to try and create change” after meeting with a student survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The first lady welcomed Parkland, Fla., student Kyle Kashuv to the White House on March 8.

Trump praised Kashuv, who briefly met President Trump as well, for his “message of unity.” The teen is co-creator of an app called ReachOut, which aims to help troubled students get support.

Kashuv also met with politicians including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Charles Schumer during his visit to Washington, D.C. He later tweeted that the Trumps were “true patriots.”

But the meeting wasn’t without its criticism, or controversy. Some conservatives pitted Kushov, who has identified himself as a Second Amendment supporter seeking a moderate, bipartisan solution, against his liberal classmates — specifically David Hogg, who revealed that he hung up on the White House when they invited him to join a gun control talk with President Trump.

Others said Kashuv was only chosen for his conservative views, and argued that the White House isn’t doing enough to make gun control a reality.

Kashuv himself responded to some of the controversy, denying claims that the White House was using him to push an anti-gun control narrative. The teen tweeted that he requested the meeting with the Trumps. He also defended the first lady, calling criticism of her “immoral.”

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