Donald Trump takes credit for aviation safety.

U.S. Department of Energy/Flickr (Public Domain)

Former astronaut: If Trump can take credit for airline safety, he can take credit for gun deaths

'Since taking office I have been very strict on Drying Paint.'

 

Kris Seavers

Internet Culture

Posted on Jan 2, 2018   Updated on May 22, 2021, 6:16 am CDT

After President Donald Trump took credit for the lack of commercial airline crashes in 2017, people thought of a few other things he could take credit for. Gun deaths were at the top of the list.  

Trump tweeted early Tuesday to brag that he was “very strict” on commercial aviation last year.

“It was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!” Trump tweeted without explaining what he did to improve airline safety.

Retired astronaut Mark Kelly retorted that it’s really the Transportation Department, the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, and commercial airlines who should take credit for a relatively safe year of flying.

“If you’re going to take credit for zero airline deaths in 2017 then you should take responsibility for the tens of thousands of gun deaths, too,” Kelly tweeted.

The Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a nonprofit that documents gun-related incidents in the U.S., reported there were more than 15,000 deaths from guns in 2017. It’s the highest recorded number of gun-related deaths since the GVA began tracking incidents in 2014.

Kelly, whose wife former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was shot and injured in 2011, is an outspoken advocate for gun control.

Other people on Twitter trolled Trump’s claim, coming up with examples of statistics the president has no influence over.

https://twitter.com/curtismharris/status/948220629567893504

https://twitter.com/ThatGuyFrmWork/status/948215613926801408

https://twitter.com/Samplat/status/948223316141191169

H/T BuzzFeed

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*First Published: Jan 2, 2018, 5:44 pm CST