--- title: Barack Obama: Orlando Families' Grief 'Beyond Description' description: President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden laid 49 roses — one for each of the Pulse nightclub shooting victims — at a memorial canonical: https://time.com/4372190/orlando-shooting-barack-obama-joe-biden-grief/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-16T21:19:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:59:52.596Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama: Orlando Families' Grief Is 'Beyond Description' og:description: "These families could be our families" og:url: https://time.com/4372190/orlando-shooting-barack-obama-joe-biden-grief/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55375ae65480cdaf/698898402dce01aaf79e9815/obama-biden-orlando-memorial-flower.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Barack Obama, Joe Biden og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama: Orlando Families' Grief Is 'Beyond Description' twitter:description: "These families could be our families" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55375ae65480cdaf/698898402dce01aaf79e9815/obama-biden-orlando-memorial-flower.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama: Orlando Families' Grief Is 'Beyond Description' > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 16, 2016 9:19 PM UTC  President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden place flowers down during their visit to a memorial to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 16, 2016. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden place flowers down during their visit to a memorial to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 16, 2016.Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 16, 2016 9:19 PM UTC Clad in dark suits with their brows furrowed, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden laid 49 roses — [one for each of the Pulse nightclub shooting victims](http://time.com/4370966/orlando-shooting/?xid=homepage&pcd=hp-magmod) — at a makeshift memorial on Thursday afternoon at the Phillips Center, adjacent to Orlando’s City Hall. President Obama has been here before, addressing the families of victims and survivors in the aftermath of a deadly mass shooting. But here he was again, traveling to Orlando almost a week after [49 were shot dead and 53 others were wounded ](http://time.com/4365545/orlando-shooting-victims-names-pulse-nightclub/)at the Pulse nightclub. The president’s trip to Orlando was his 10th visit to the scene of a mass shooting. During the president’s remarks, after meeting with families of victims and survivors, the poignancy of the visit rung true. He described the families’ grief as “beyond description.” Obama again called the shooting an act of “terror” and an act of “hate.” The shooting, he said, was an attack on the LGBT community. “Today, once again, as has been true too many times before, I held and hugged grieving family members and friends and they asked why does this keep happening. They pleaded that we do more to stop the carnage,” Obama said Thursday. “They don’t care about the politics. Neither do I. Niether does \[Vice President\] Joe \[Biden\].” Obama added, “the notion that the answer to this tragedy would be to make sure that more people in a nightclub are similarly armed to the killer, defies common sense,” recalling some arguments by pro-gun activists. President Obama said though the city was “shaken by an evil, hateful act.” “The worst of humanity reared it’s evil but the best of humanity came roaring back,” he said. ### Scenes From the Tragic Aftermath of the Orlando Pulse Nightclub Shooting  Police officers direct family members away from a shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Phelan M. Ebenhack—AP  Police and forensics investigators work at the crime scene of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Carlo Allegri—Reuters  Friends and family members embrace outside the Orlando Police Headquarters during the investigation of a shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Steve Nesius—Reuters  Police investigate the Pulse nightclub following a mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  Tatiana Osorio cries while giving blood at the OneBlood blood center near the mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016\. Osorio lost three friends in the shooting. David Goldman—AP  A memorial honors the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  A woman reacts as authorities investigate Pulse following a mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  A reporter pauses at the Hampton Inn where relatives of victims gather for information in Orlando, Fla., on June, 12, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  A remembrance for Eric Rivera, killed in the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub, sits amongst a makeshift memorial for the victims in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. David Goldman—AP  Mourners attend a makeshift vigil for victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  Hundreds of people gather at a memorial outside of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. John Taggart—EPA  A memorial honors victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  A mourner attends a makeshift vigil and a moment of silence for victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  Reporters wait to interview relatives of victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  Seddique Mateen, father of Pulse nightclub gunman Omar Mateen, outside his home in Port Saint Lucie, Fla., on June 14, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden depart a makeshift memorial after placing flowers in memory of shooting victims of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June 16, 2016. Carlos Barria—Reuters  Mourners attend a makeshift vigil and a moment of silence for victims of the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME President Obama traveled to Orlando with the Vice President, Congresswoman Corrine Brown and Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio of Florida. Rubio and Brown traveled via Air Force One with the President, while Sen. Nelson flew with the Vice President. Before meeting with families at Orlando’s Amway Center, President Obama had an opportunity to thank Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and first responders for their response to the shooting. During a press conference on Monday, [authorities said the actions of officials who took down the shooter](http://time.com/4365988/orlando-shooting-omar-mateen-police-pulse/) “saved many, many lives.” The president also met with staff members from Pulse nightclub, which lost two staff members during the attack. Though the president visited Orlando to meet with families, he waded into what has become a contentious debate about who and what is to blame for the attack. He called on all levels of government to do more to prevent terrorists from attacking Americans, saying his administration would continue [working to destroy ISIS](http://time.com/4368617/barack-obama-muslim-ban-orlando-shooting/). Shortly before the president spoke, the Arizona [Sen. John McCain](http://time.com/4372130/mccain-obama-responsible-orlando-shooting/) blamed the administration’s policies for the rise of ISIS and, in turn, the attack itself. Earlier this week, likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said the president “claims to know our enemy, and yet he continues to prioritize our enemy over our allies, and for that matter, the American people.” Obama blamed U.S. politics for Omar Mateen’s ability, despite having been interviewed by the FBI on three separate occasions due to suspected ties to terrorism, to purchase a firearm. He said though the motives of shooters in Aurora, Newtown, and San Bernardino, and now Orlando may have differed, “the instruments of death were so similar.” Now, he said, another 49 are dead and some 53 will have scars that will last a lifetime. “Unfortunately, our politics have conspired to make it as easy as possible for a terrorist or just a disturbed indivual like those in Aurora or Newtown to buy extraordinary powerful weapons and they can do so legally,” Obama said. “This debate needs to change.” He said the families he met with in Orlando “don’t care about politics” and urged the Senate, where a 15 hour filibuster urging gun action wrapped early Thursday, to “do the right thing” and “save some lives.” “Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault weapons should meet these families,” Obama said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4372190/orlando-shooting-barack-obama-joe-biden-grief/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4372190/orlando-shooting-barack-obama-joe-biden-grief/"},"headline":"President Obama: Orlando Families' Grief Is 'Beyond Description'","datePublished":"2016-06-16T21:19:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:59:52.596Z","description":"\"These families could be our families. 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