Donald Trump has been greeted by hundreds of protesters as he visited Dayton and El Paso following the mass shootings which left 31 people dead.
Demonstrators in the two grief-stricken cities carried placards that read: “do something” as they demanded stricter gun control and urged the president to stand up to the NRA.
Mr Trump and first lady Melania Trump flew to El Paso, Texas, late on Wednesday after visiting the hospital in Dayton, Ohio, where many of the victims of Sunday's attack were treated.
Outside Miami Valley Hospital, at least 200 protesters gathered, blaming Mr Trump's rhetoric for inflaming political and racial tensions in the country.
Emotions are still raw in the aftermath of the early Sunday morning shooting rampage that left 10 dead, including the gunman, in the city's popular Oregon entertainment district.
Critics contend Mr Trump's own words contributed to a combustible climate that has spawned violence in cities including El Paso, where another shooter killed 22 people over the weekend.
The president rejected that assertion as he left the White House, dismissing those who say he bears some responsibility for the nation's divisions.
"My critics are political people," Mr Trump said, raising the apparent political leanings of the shooter in the Dayton killings. He also defended his rhetoric on issues including immigration, claiming instead that he "brings people together."
In Dayton, raw anger and pain were on display as protesters chanted "Ban those guns" during Mr Trump's visit.
And in El Paso, where more protests were expected, Raul Melendez, whose father-in-law, David Johnson, was killed in Saturday's shooting, said the most appropriate thing the president could do was to meet with relatives of the victims.
"It shows that he actually cares, if he talks to individual families," said Mr Melendez, who credits Mr Johnson with helping his 9-year-old daughter survive the attack by pushing her under a counter.
