| | | | Donald Trump's huge empathy test awaits | | A very long time ago -- when it still looked like Donald Trump might not be the Republican presidential nominee and when no one thought he might wind up as president -- a very smart GOP consultant told me what he thought would ultimately do Trump in.
It was empathy. Or a lack thereof. The situation the Republican strategist painted for me was a natural disaster or a mass shooting in which Trump was called on to console the country, to bring us together with a message of hope and a reminder of our common humanity.
Trump, this consultant argued, was simply incapable of doing that most fundamental of presidential duties.
It never became a major issue in the campaign. But Trump's struggles to be empathetic have already impacted his presidency in a major way.
The most glaring example is Trump's repeated insistence that the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia was "on many sides" -- a fact-free attempt at both-sides-do-it-ism that ignored the fact that one group was made up of white supremacists and neo-Nazis, the other, people protesting that sort of discrimination and hate.
At a time when unity was what the country needed, Trump sought to divide. If a president can't condemn neo-Nazis and empathize with those victimized by these forces of intolerance, it suggests he lacks the basic instincts toward leadership that past presidents have possessed.
Which brings me to today -- or, more accurately, Tuesday and Wednesday, when Trump will travel to Puerto Rico and Las Vegas, respectively.
In Puerto Rico, Trump is expected to view the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria up close. The trip comes after rising criticism of Trump's handling of the aftermath of Maria, which knocked power out to the entire island nation and caused major food and water shortages.
In Las Vegas, Trump will come face to face with the single largest mass shooting in modern American history. At the time of the most recent update, 59 people are dead and more than 527 are wounded.
On Monday, Trump largely stuck to the presidential script -- reading remarks expressing his condolences for the Las Vegas victims off of a teleprompter. The question will be whether -- and how much -- he goes off script over these next 48 hours with the eyes of the world on him.
Exit polls suggest that most voters didn't believe Trump cared about people like them in 2016. (Among the 15% who said "cares about people like me" was the most important trait in choosing a candidate, Hillary Clinton beat Trump by 23 points.) It didn't matter. He won anyway.
But, running for president is very different than being president. So, too, are peoples' expectations of how a president should act and what they should do.
Trump's lack of empathy as president has been a problem. Can he fix it over these next two days?
-- Chris | | GUNS IN AMERICA: WHERE WE AGREE... AND WHERE WE DON'T | | 
CNN's Ryan Struyk emails:
"It's no secret that Washington is divided on new gun control laws. But Americans themselves might not be so divided (on some things) after all. Broad majorities in both parties support blocking those who are mentally ill and those on federal no-fly or watch lists from buying guns. Also, majorities back background checks for private sales and, by a slim margin among Republicans, an assault weapons ban, according to a Pew Research survey from this spring."
For some more in-depth polling and analysis, Chris pulled up eight charts that go a long way toward helping to shape a fuller picture of American gun culture. | | WASHINGTON'S RESPONSE, IN TWO TWEETS | | This pair of tweets, from Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from a blue state, and Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican from a red state, pretty much sum up the noise coming out of Washington today.
Like Trump about an hour earlier, Alexander delivered the familiar call for prayers. Murphy, not 40 minutes later, said those "prayers" were little more than a cynical deflection from discussion about the action required to stop the bloodshed. (More here from Cillizza on Murphy's unapologetic gun politics.)
In The New Yorker, Ryan Lizza wrote a brief review of the day's public pronouncements. Trump's live remarks this morning were indeed notable, he said, but only for their lack of notability. Here's Lizza:
"It was not Trump's worst public performance. He stayed on script, and read a short and well-crafted statement without making any bizarre Trumpian asides. But it was a classic of the 'thoughts and prayers' model in that it offered no promise of a policy response whatsoever. 'We are joined together today in sadness, shock, and grief,' he began."
CNN's Z. Byron Wolf took a closer look at the Democrats, who, like in Murphy's case, are becoming "increasingly desperate to do something -- anything -- on gun control." Will it work? That's more difficult to say. | | GUN STOCKS RISE AFTER SHOOTING | | Stocks in major gun makers spiked even before the markets opened Monday morning. The screen cap above from Bloomberg's Trista Kelley shows how abruptly they moved. CNNMoney's Paul R. La Monica tracked prices for Sturm Ruger and American Outdoor Brands (AOBC), the company formerly known as Smith & Wesson. There is, of course, nothing new about this. As La Monica explains:
"Investors had bet that (the massacres in Orlando, Newtown, and others) would lead to tougher gun control laws, especially because of tough talk from President Obama.
The stricter laws never materialized. Instead, gun sales climbed during the Obama administration's two terms as gun aficionados bought more firearms just in case rules changed at a national level or in individual states controlled by Democrats.
But shares of Sturm Ruger and American Outdoor Brands have both fallen sharply since Donald Trump, who was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, was elected president.
Investors had feared that a win by his opponent, Hillary Clinton, last year would have led to stricter regulations. Trump's win removed those fears, and gun company sales and profits have plunged as a result. FBI background checks for firearms have fallen as well."
Meanwhile, CNNMoney's Chris Isidore and Ivana Kottasova report that casino stocks fell after the attack. | | Come what may, Tom Petty is pretty great. Here's Chris' favorite Petty tune.
 | | As CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter noted in a tweet today, The Onion runs this headline after every mass shooting. The body of the story below gets a few tweaks (the place and date and number of people killed, etc.), but otherwise, that stays the same, too.
Additional listening: Back in August, NPR's Sam Sanders, host of the podcast "It's Been a Minute," visited Onion HQ for a really interesting look into how the site's editors and writers craft their satire. | | 
Spain is an old country, but a relatively new democracy.
The dictator Francisco Franco died in 1975 and the current constitution, agreed upon a few years later, is not quite four decades old. Now the state is again on the brink, as Spanish police attacked voters in Catalonia as they sought to cast ballots in a controversial independence referendum. Many of the nastiest scenes came out of the Catalan capital, Barcelona.
CNN's Isa Soares, Vasco Cotovio and Hilary Clarke have put together a brief rundown of the ongoing crisis -- and what comes next.
For a different angle, check out this essay from Nando Vila up today on Deadspin. Nando is a dual American and Spanish citizen with a family that's half Castilian (so more attached to Madrid and the state) and half Catalan. Here's a taste of his take:
"I've watched as both camps have ratcheted up the rhetoric, saying increasingly ugly things about the other side. I've long felt that the acrimony has reached a level that will be hard to come down from. Some yell "Democracy!" while others yell "The Constitution!" in an attempt to elevate what is essentially a conflict of pure and unbridled nationalism to one of high-minded principle.
The financial crisis of 2008 unleashed a resurgence of xenophobia all over Europe that has caused millions to turn against immigrants. But in the midst of the worst economic crisis in decades, Spaniards haven't turned against immigrants -- they've turned on each other."
Post script: Yes, you remember it right. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was in Washington just last week. During a joint presser, Trump was asked if he supported Madrid's position on the referendum. Here's what he said:
"Well, I think that Spain is a great country and it should remain united. We're dealing with a great, great country, and it should remain united.
I've been watching that unfold, but it's actually been unfolding for centuries. And I think that nobody knows if they're going to have a vote. I think the President would say they're not going to have a vote. But I think that the people would be very much opposed to that.
I can say only speaking for myself, I would like to see Spain continue to be united." | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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