'I've never been so unimpressed by a person in my life': Parkland shooting survivor delivers a biting critique of her phone call with Trump

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Parent Melissa Blank (L) and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting surviving students Jonathan Blank (2nd L) and Julia Cordover (2nd R) attend with other survivors and the families of victims a listening session held by U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss school safety and shootings, at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 21, 2018.

• A Parkland school shooting survivor delivered a harsh critique of her phone call with President Donald Trump, who reached out to her while she was recovering from her wounds in the hospital.
• Samantha Fuentes indicated to The New York Times that Trump seemed insincere, and said "he didn't make me feel better in the slightest."
• Trump has struggled with showing empathy toward victims of national tragedies since he took office, but the president has insisted otherwise.

A student who survived the February 14th mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, had some terse words for President Donald Trump, who she said called her on the phone while she was recovering in the hospital.

Samantha Fuentes told The New York Times she did not feel comforted by Trump, who she said seemed insincere during their phone conversation.

"He said he heard that I was a big fan of his, and then he said, 'I'm a big fan of yours, too.' I'm pretty sure he made that up," Fuentes told The Times in a story published Thursday night.

"Talking to the president, I've never been so unimpressed by a person in my entire life," Fuentes said. "He didn't make me feel better in the slightest."

Fuentes said Trump called the suspected gunman, Nikolas Cruz, a "sick puppy," and said "'oh boy, oh boy, oh boy,' like seven times," the newspaper reported.

Trump has struggled to show empathy during national tragedies that have happened since he took office.

That became evident during his visits with victims of Hurricane Harvey in September 2017, an October visit with survivors of the massive storm that ravaged Puerto Rico, and after an ambush in Niger that killed four US Army Special Forces troops that same month.

The conversation around Trump's apparent empathy deficit, as some have called it, resurfaced on Wednesday when news photographers captured images of the personal notes Trump held in his hands during a White House listening session with shooting survivors.

But others at the gathering in the West Wing this week left with a different impression. One of those was a father who got emotional while talking about his 18-year-old daughter who died in the Parkland shooting. Andrew Pollack said of Trump, "That guy showed us nothing but love."

"He's a regular guy," Pollack said. "I wouldn't have been there if I didn't think he cared."