A photograph of President Donald Trump emerged detailing his questions and talking points from a listening session held at the White House for survivors of the tragic Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Trump's handwritten note on White House letterhead lists five key points, but his hands block some of them. The visible ones include "What would you most want me to know about your experience?” and “What can we do to help you feel safe?” Lastly, and probably most jarring, is his reminder to express empahty with "I hear you."
As reported by CNN, during the session he said, “I want to listen. And then after I listen, we’re going to get things done.”
Trump's solution? Armed teachers. Trump believes that schools could arm up to 20 percent of their teachers to stop these "maniacs." He went on to say, "If you had a teacher who was adept with the firearm, they could end the attack very quickly."
However, on Thursday morning, Trump tweeted he "never said 'give teachers guns,." Yet, he went on to repeat his Wednesday quote about certain teachers becoming concealed gun carriers.
I never said “give teachers guns” like was stated on Fake News @CNN & @NBC. What I said was to look at the possibility of giving “concealed guns to gun adept teachers with military or special training experience – only the best. 20% of teachers, a lot, would now be able to
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
….immediately fire back if a savage sicko came to a school with bad intentions. Highly trained teachers would also serve as a deterrent to the cowards that do this. Far more assets at much less cost than guards. A “gun free” school is a magnet for bad people. ATTACKS WOULD END!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
The chances of this never happening again are highly unlikely. This shooting left 17 people dead and 14 others injured. The Stoneman Douglas High School shooting is the latest U.S. mass shooting, which knocked the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 out of the 25 deadliest mass shootings in history.
Trump ended his Twitter rant by praising the NRA and their mission of making America great again.
What many people don’t understand, or don’t want to understand, is that Wayne, Chris and the folks who work so hard at the @NRA are Great People and Great American Patriots. They love our Country and will do the right thing. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
In 2000, Trump opposed gun control in his book, "The America We Deserve," writing, "I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun..with today's Internet technology, we should be able to tell within 72 hours if a potential gun owner has a record." Although he is singing a different tune 18 years later, Trump vowed that his administration would "come up with a solution."
Sixty-two percent of respondents in a Washington Post poll said Trump is not doing the best job of preventing mass shootings and 77 percent blame Congress.
Justin Gruber, a Stoneman Douglas student, said he was born after Columbine.
"I was born into a world where I never got to experience safety and peace. There needs to be a significant change in this country. This has to never happen again," he said. "People should be able to feel like when they go to school it can be safe. There needs to be a change. People need to feel safe."
