As the nation mourned, President Donald Trump kept largely silent about the Florida school shooting victims and the escalating gun control debate, instead raging at the FBI for what he perceived to be a fixation on the Russia investigation at the cost of failing to deter the attack.
From the privacy of Mar-a-Lago, Trump vented about the investigation in a marathon series of tweets over the weekend. He said on Sunday "they are laughing their asses off in Moscow"' at the lingering fallout from the Kremlin's election interference and that the Obama administration bears some blame for the meddling.
Trump was last seen publicly on Friday night when he visited the Florida community reeling from a school shooting that left 17 dead and gave rise to a student-led push for more gun control.
White House aides advised the president against golfing so soon after the tragedy, so Trump spent much of the holiday weekend watching cable television news and grousing to club members and advisers.
Amid a growing call for action on guns, the White House said on Sunday the president will host a "listening session" with students and teachers this week, but offered no details on who would attend or what would be discussed.
On Monday, 17 Washington students plan a "lie-in" by the White House to advocate for tougher gun laws. Students who survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland are planning a march on Washington next month to pressure politicians to take action on gun violence.
Throughout the weekend, the president's mind remained on Russia after an indictment from special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday charged 13 Russians with a plot to interfere in the US presidential election.
Trump tweeted about the nation's "heavy heart" in the wake of the shooting and noted the "incredible people" he met on his visit to the community. But he also sought to use the shooting to criticise the nation's leading law enforcement agency.
Trump said late on Saturday that the FBI "missed all of the many signals" sent by the suspect and argued that agents are "spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign."
Australian Associated Press
