News, White House Report

White House Hosts Listening Session on Gun Violence

April Ryan
February 22, 2018

From left, President Donald Trump, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student students Carson Abt, and Ariana Klein, listen as Carson's father Frederick Abt, speaks during a listening session with high school students, teachers, and others in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. In the aftermath of yet another mass school shooting, Trump says that if one of the victims, a football coach, had been armed “he would have shot and that would have been the end of it.” Revisiting an idea he raised in his campaign, Trump’s comments in favor of allowing teachers to be armed come as lawmakers in several states are wrestling with the idea, including in Florida, where the 17 most recent school shooting victims are being mourned.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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President Donald Trump holds notes during a listening session with high school students and teachers in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. Trump heard the stories of students and parents affected by school shootings, following last week's deadly shooting in Florida. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) — President Donald Trump holds notes during a listening session with high school students and teachers in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. Trump heard the stories of students and parents affected by school shootings, following last week’s deadly shooting in Florida. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The White House held the first in a series of listening sessions on school gun violence. Some of the conversation caused strong reaction on Twitter over who should become a first-responder when school shootings happen. More from AURN White House correspondent April Ryan.

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

….History shows that a school shooting lasts, on average, 3 minutes. It takes police & first responders approximately 5 to 8 minutes to get to site of crime. Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018

Trump had to read off a card to say, “I hear you.”

This is a sick joke. https://t.co/Nnk91e5rzE

— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) February 21, 2018

RT if you think teachers need school supplies & a living wage more than they need guns. #ParklandStudentsSpeak #ListeningSession pic.twitter.com/jE3xIv05nh

— Millennial Politics (@MillenPolitics) February 22, 2018

8 a.m. and I’m already in a rage. Obviously, after yesterday’s “listening session” @realDonaldTrump didn’t really HEAR anything.

He must have been severely spanked by Stephen Miller and the @NRA yesterday. Again showing that he has no spine. https://t.co/bKiaoqcxjj

— 🖕🏻Aunt Crabby 🖕🏻 (@DearAuntCrabby) February 22, 2018

Trump’s instinctive reaction to the #NeverAgain protests and a “listening session” with parents of murdered children? Propose a policy that only helps the @NRA. Arm teachers—surely at market cost—and force them to be walking adverts for gun culture’s sick idea of safety.

— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) February 22, 2018

April Ryan has a unique vantage point as the only Black female reporter covering urban issues from the White House, a position she has held with AURN since the Clinton era. Her position as a White House Correspondent has afforded her heightened insight into the racial sensitivities, issues, and attendant political struggles of our nation. April has written three books; The Presidency in Black & White: My Close-Up View of Three Presidents and Race in America, At Mama's Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White, and Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House. Twitter: @aprildryan