| In times of tragedy, the nation looks to its leader for guidance -- a responsibility of the US presidency that's colloquially referred to as being the "comforter in chief."
It's a role President Donald Trump has haphazardly embraced, as the last five days have shown. Following the shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, Trump's initial responses, at least on Twitter, were measured, calling for the flags to fly at half-staff and offering prayers for those affected. That tone didn't last. On Monday morning, Trump fired off several tweets, including one saying that the "Fake News has contributed greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years. News coverage has got to start being fair, balanced and unbiased, or these terrible problems will only get worse!"
Later Monday morning in scripted remarks from the White House, he shifted the focus away from his broadsides against the media -- instead condemning white supremacy and vowing to take action to prevent further gun massacres.
Then, in Wednesday's early hours -- the same day the President was scheduled to travel to Dayton and El Paso to meet with victims in the shootings -- Trump went after the one Democratic presidential candidate who lives in El Paso.
Trump tweeted: "Beto (phony name to indicate Hispanic heritage) O'Rourke, who is embarrassed by my last visit to the Great State of Texas, where I trounced him, and is now even more embarrassed by polling at 1% in the Democrat Primary, should respect the victims & law enforcement — & be quiet!"
It's not clear what Trump is referring to in trouncing him -- Trump's last visit to Texas was for a rally in February. At the time, O'Rourke headlined a dueling event.
Trump was also tweeting about the Dayton shooter "supporting political figures like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and ANTIFA" on Wednesday morning, despite the fact that authorities have not determined a political motivation for the perpetrator. Reporters asked Trump about own his rhetoric before he left to meet with the shooting victims. "We have toned it down," Trump said Wednesday. "We've been getting hit left and right from everybody ... (including) a couple of people from Texas, political people from Texas that aren't doing very well."
Even on his way to El Paso -- having just departed the hospital in Ohio where shooting victims were recovering, Trump offered up criticism for another Democratic foe.
"Watching Sleepy Joe Biden making a speech," Trump tweeted. "Sooo Boring! The LameStream Media will die in the ratings and clicks with this guy. It will be over for them, not to mention the fact that our Country will do poorly with him. It will be one big crash, but at least China will be happy!"
Trump has let personal disputes get in the way of his role as chief consoler in the past.
After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, Trump traded barbs with the mayor of San Juan. He took to Twitter to criticize after the island territory struggled to recover -- and praised the work done by his administration: "Outside of the Fake News or politically motivated ingrates, people are now starting to recognize the amazing work that has been done by FEMA and our great Military."
The most notable example of this was Trump's response to the "Unite the Right" white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Initially, Trump blamed "many sides" for the violence that ultimately left one person dead. After being criticized for his response, Trump then made public remarks, blaming the white supremacists and neo-Nazis at the heart of the violence.
One day later, Trump defended his original response, saying again that there was blame on "both sides." He added, "You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say it, but I will say it right now."
The Point: This latest national inflection point continues to reveal Trump's strongest role is not "comforter in chief." -- Lauren | 
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