Trump says school shootings "first on our list" in meetings with governors
President Trump says he'll be discussing the Florida school shooting with the nation's governors. Mr. Trump delivered remarks during the annual Governors' Ball reception at the White House on Sunday evening.
"The governors – we're gonna have a lot of meetings tomorrow. We're gonna have some very important meetings. We're gonna be talking about Parkland and the horrible event that took place last week," the president previewed on Sunyay.
He added, "We have to end our country of what's happening with respect to that subject, so we'll be talking about that and many other things."
The issue of gun legislation and formulating an adequate response to preventing similar tragedies such as the one in Florida has been a topic for discussion at the White House this past week.
Mr. Trump signaled several avenues on gun reforms that he would consider, including supporting bipartisan legislation on more stringent background checks and raising the age limit of those who can purchase high-capacity weapons. He has also called on the Justice Department to explore regulations that would ban "bump stock" devices. Over the last several days, he has embraced proposals to arm teachers in classrooms.
Governor Asa Hutchinson, who was in attendance for the evening's event, told CBS' "Face the Nation" earlier on Sunday that such proposals would have to play out on the state and local levels.
Socializing was on the agenda Sunday night when the governors and their spouses arrived at the White House night for their annual ball. The crowd at the White House was a mix of Democrats and Republicans, including Florida Governor Rick Scott.
Mr. Trump thanked Scott, a close ally, in light of the shooting and told the governor he's "doing a great job."
The president took time to tout his administration's achievements including rolling back regulations and overhauling the nation's tax codes. He added that he's very proud of all the governors, saying they are "very, very special people" who do an "incredible" job.
Mr. Trump is expected to host the governors for a "business session" at the White House sometime Monday.