Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

President Trump Holds Meeting on Guns and Safety. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired February 28, 2018 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:14]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Top of the hour now. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Brooke Baldwin.

And right now at the White House, Democrats who want more gun control and Republicans who reject more gun restrictions are going to be seated around one table, and between them will be President Trump.

Billed as a response to the Florida school massacre two weeks ago, the White House says that heightened interest prompted them to cancel today's press briefing and invite cameras to observe this conversation with lawmakers.

A likely topic that they will discuss, raising the age limit for buying certain firearms. But a source tells CNN that the head of the NRA has made a direct appeal to President Trump, asking him to back down from that proposal.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins is live for us at the White House.

So, Kaitlan, the last time the Democrats were invited to a discussion on guns with some governors, it got a little heated, for sure. So, what are we expecting from this meeting?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Brianna.

And what those lawmakers are likely looking for are some specifics coming out of this White House as to what President Trump wants to see, what kind of gun safety measures he wants to see, beyond the ones that he has dictated on Twitter.

They want to see real proposals of what the president is going to support. And the White House said yesterday that he still supports raising that age limit to purchase certain firearms from 18 to 21. And his other biggest proposal has been arming schoolteachers.

But they are certainly wanting to see that, as well as Republicans, before they get behind anything on Capitol Hill. So, you can expect a lot more back and forth today between those lawmakers and the president as they meet to discuss what is going on.

But the White House has promised that they will release specific proposals about gun safety measures here either today or by the end of this week.

KEILAR: All right.

And we are actually getting a look inside of this room, as we see lawmakers sitting down.

Kaitlan, how -- I mean, I'm looking there. I can see -- just from across the room, I think I see Senator Marco Rubio. I think I see Senator Dianne Feinstein there.

I mean, this could be very fascinating, as you watch this bipartisan group of lawmakers, unscripted, talking about a very controversial issue.

The president, I should mention, pulling out the chair for Senator Dianne Feinstein, so that she can sit, with some chivalry there -- Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes, that's right.

It certainly is going to be a fascinating conversation, because we have heard a lot of opinions from these lawmakers, including Marco Rubio, who was on the stage at that town hall with CNN talking about what kind of gun measures he wants to see imposed. He obviously is from Florida.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Actually, Kaitlan, I'm so sorry to interrupt you. The president is getting started.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- very different period than we have experienced. We have to do something about it. We have to act. We can't wait and play games and nothing gets done. And I really believe that the people -- this is bipartisan. It's a bipartisan meeting. And we're going to discuss safe schools, and we can really get there, but we have to do it. We don't want to wait two weeks, three weeks, four weeks and people sort of forget, and then we go back on, and then we have another problem. We want to stop the problems from having (ph).

So as we continue to mourn the loss of so many precious young lives in Parkland, Florida, we're determined to turn our grief into action. I really believe that. I think that the people at this table want it. I mean, I see some folks that don't say nice things about me, and that's OK. Because if you turn that into this energy, I'll love you. I don't care. We're going to be able to do it.

Sadly, these horrible mass shootings are nothing new. I asked for just a list of -- look at Columbine, Colorado; Bill Clinton was president. Virginia Tech, George Bush. Ft. Hood, Sandy Hook, San Bernardino, Pulse Nightclub, and so many more. It's ridiculous. So today we're here in a bipartisan fashion to show leadership in an effort to end the senseless violence. And it -- violence -- it can be ended, and it will be ended.

First we must harden our schools against attack. These include allowing people with a certified training, very talented people, to carry firearms. Some people are going to disagree with that, and I understand that. I fully understand that. And if you do, I want you to speak up today, and we'll listen.

TRUMP: But 98 percent of all mass shootings in the United States, since 1950, have taken place in gun-free zones, where guns were not inside the school or, as an example, you take the Pulse Nightclub. If you had one person in that room that could carry a gun and knew how to use it, it wouldn't have happened, or certainly not to the extent it did, where he was just in there shooting and shooting and shooting, and they were defenseless.

So just remember that: 98 percent of all mass public shootings in the United States since 1950 have taken place in gun-free zones, which is terrible. You've got to have defense, too. You can't just be sitting ducks. And that's exactly what we've allowed people in these buildings and schools to be.

Second, we have to confront mental health. There's never been a case that I've ever seen -- I'm sure everybody would feel the same -- where mental health was so obviously -- 39 different red flags. I mean, everybody was seeing them -- the local police, the state police, the FBI. Everybody was seeing that this guy was sick, and nothing happened.

Third, we have to ensure that, when students, educators, family, neighbors -- that, when they warn authorities -- that the authorities act quickly and decisively, unlike what took police in Florida, which was horrible.

Fourth, we have to pursue common-sense measures that protect the rights of law-abiding Americans while keeping guns and -- we have to keep the guns out of the hands that pose the threat. And this really includes background checks.

And I know, Senator, that you're working on things. Joe, I know you're working. I mean, I'm looking at a number of the folks around the table. You're working on different bills. We have to get them -- we have to get them done. We have to get them done. And they have to be strong.

The background checks -- hey, look, I'm the biggest fan of the Second Amendment. Many of you are. I'm a big fan of the NRA. But -- I've met (ph) -- I had lunch with them, with Wayne and Chris and David, on Sunday, and said, "It's time. I'm going to stop this nonsense. It's time."

So we've made suggestions to many of you, and I think you're going to put a lot of those suggestions in place. You're going to have your own ideas. Certain ideas sound good, but they're not -- they're not good. You know, you can harden a site to a level that nobody could get in. The problem is, if the shooter's inside and he gets to -- he gets in the door and closes the door, we can't get people in.

It's going to cost hundred of millions of dollars all over the country, and we'll have nice hard sites. The door closes, and now we can't get in -- have to send a tractor through the walls. So we have to be careful of that.

And we have to create a culture that cherishes life and human dignity. So we're going to all sit around. We're going to come up with some ideas. Hopefully, we can put those ideas in a very bipartisan bill. It would be so beautiful to have one bill that everybody could support, as opposed to, you know, 15 bills -- everybody's got their own bill.

But, if we could have one terrific bill that everybody -- started by the people around this table -- special people -- these are the people that seem to be just most interested, very interested in this problem. And it's a big problem.

So, with that, I think I'd like to start. Maybe I'll ask John. You can start off, and we'll go back and forth. We'll leave the media for a little while, and they can hear some thought. But it's something that can be done. There's no reason for this.

But, again, I really believe that those people -- it's idealistic. It's wonderful. It's a beautiful thing. But, if you think that somebody is going to be able to walk into a school, if they feel that they're not going to have bullets coming at them from the other direction, you're never going to solve the problem.

I feel that. I feel that. But I'm certainly open to suggestions. So, John, why don't you start? You've put in your Fix NICS. And let's see how it is. And go ahead.

RUTHERFORD: Well, thank you, Mr. President...

TRUMP: Thank you.

RUTHERFORD: ... for getting us together and for expressing your sincere concern about this and trying to get us to a solution. I agree with you that leaving this town and going home empty-handed is not acceptable. The public demands that we act.

We know how hard it is to get people together on a bipartisan basis. But, believe it or not, at least in one case, Congress -- Senator Murphy and I -- we have 46 co-sponsors to the Fix NICS bill in the Senate. The House has passed its version of it. And I believe it's a good place for us to start.

As you know, Sutherland Springs -- we lost 26 people when a guy who fought (ph) in the Air Force -- a convicted felon -- he was convicted of domestic violence and he was less-than-honorably discharged from the military, none of which was uploaded into the background check system maintained by the FBI. I mean, that's only as good as the data put into it. So Senator Murphy and I and 46 Senate colleagues, on a bipartisan basis, have what we think is a start. It's not the end-all, be-all. There's other things that people want to add to it. We talked about the bump stock issue that Senator Feinstein, I know, cares passionately about.

TRUMP: And I'm going to write that out. Because we can do that with an executive order. I'm going to write the bump stock -- essentially, write it out. So you won't have to worry about bump stock. Shortly, that'll be gone. We can focus on other things. Frankly, I don't even know if it would be good in this bill. It's nicer to have a separate piece of paper where it's gone, and we'll have that done pretty quickly. They're working on it right now, the lawyers. Go ahead.

CORNYN: But we need to get started on things that only we can do, which would be this background check system. People have other ideas. They ought to offer those ideas. I'm not sure all of them will pass, but in the past, we've -- we've -- we've acquiesced to failure, and have not done things that we know were within our power to accomplish, like the Fix NICS bill. So I would just like to recommend to you, and to colleagues here that we get that done, and we build on it. We don't stop there. We build on it, and -- Because none of us want to look these families in the face in the wake of another mass shooting and say, "We failed to do everything within our power to stop it."

TRUMP: And, John, Fix NICS has some really good things in it. But it would be nice if we could add everything on to it. And maybe you change the title, all right? The U.S. Background Check Bill, or whatever. But your bill is really good, and really important, having to do with a certain aspect. But maybe we could make it much more comprehensive, and have one bill, instead of 15 different bills that nobody knows what's happening.

CORNYN: If we can get 60 votes for it, Mr. President, I'm all for it.

TRUMP: I think you can. Honestly, I think -- Look, I really believe this is one of the things where you can actually get the 60 votes, and maybe easily. Dianne, do you have something?

FEINSTEIN: Well, I do, Mr. President. You probably know this, but I became mayor of San Francisco as a product of assassination. I've been the victim of terrorist groups. The department gave me a weapon. They taught me how to shoot it, and we proceeded through the 1970s that way.

What I've watched and seen is the development of weapons that I never thought would leave the battlefield, that are out on our streets. And the latest and newest, Mr. Chairman, is the AR-15. It's got a lot of assets to it, and it's -- it's misused. And it tears apart a human body with the velocity.

And I've watched the school shootings, in particular, which you pointed out. And I thought Sandy Hook -- and I'm delighted that Senator Murphy is here today. We thought Sandy Hook would be the end, and he and I introduced another assault weapons bill after the first one. We didn't succeed with it, but the killings have gone on. The number of incidents have gone up, and I put my case in writing, which I will give you, if I may, in letter form.

TRUMP: Good, good. Good. Thank you.

FEINSTEIN: And secondly, the assault weapons legislation, this is the number of incidents before, and -- of -- of -- of incidents, and of deaths.

TRUMP: Right.

FEINSTEIN: This is when the ten-year assault weapon ban was in -- how incidents and deaths dropped. When it ended, you see it going up.

TRUMP: OK.

FEINSTEIN: So, Senator Murphy...

TRUMP: I'll take a look at it.

FEINSTEIN: ... and 26 of us have co-sponsored a new bill. I would be most honored if you would take a look at it.

TRUMP: I will. I will.

FEINSTEIN: And we will get it to you, and let us know what you -- what you think of it.

TRUMP: I will.

FEINSTEIN: Thank you.

TRUMP: Thank you very much.

Chris? Go ahead.

C. MURPHY: Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, thank you very much. Thank you for taking this seriously. Our hearts go out to Parkland. We know, having gone through this in Sandy Hook, that that community will never, ever be the same.

And I want to bring us back to this issue of background checks, if I could, becauase I think there's real opportunity.

TRUMP: I agree.

C. MURPHY: There is no other issue out there in the American public today like background checks. Ninety-seven percent of Americans want universal background checks. In states that have universal background checks, there are 35 percent less gun murders than in states that don't have them. And yet we can't get it done. There's nothing else like that, where it works, people want it, and we can't do it.

TRUMP: But you have a different president now.

C. MURPHY: Well, listen, I...

TRUMP: I mean, you went through a lot of presidents, and you didn't get it done. But you have a different president, and I think, maybe, you have a different attitude, too. I think people want to get it done.

C. MURPHY: Well, listen...

TRUMP: Go ahead.

C. MURPHY: In -- in the end, Mr. President, the reason that nothing has gotten done here is because the gun lobby has had a veto power over any legislation that comes before Congress. I wish that wasn't the case, but that is. And if all we end up doing is the stuff that the gun industry supports, then this just isn't worth it. We are not going to make a difference.

And so I'm glad that you sat down with the NRA, but we will get 60 votes on a bill that looks like the Manchin-Toomey compromise on background checks, Mr. President, if you support it. If you come to Congress, if you come to Republicans and say, "We are going to do a Manchin-Toomey-like bill to get comprehensive background checks, it will pass. But if this meeting ends up with just sort of vague notions of future compromise, then nothing will happen.

TRUMP: I agree. We don't want that.

C. MURPHY: And so -- so I -- I -- I think we have a unique opportunity to get comprehensive background checks, make sure that nobody buys a gun in this country that's a criminal, that's seriously mentally ill, that's on the terrorist watch list. But Mr. President, it's going to have to be you that brings the Republicans to the table on this...

TRUMP: Sure.

C. MURPHY: ...Because right now, the gun lobby would stop it in its tracks.

TRUMP: I like that responsibility, Chris. I really do. I think it's time. It's time that a president stepped up, and we haven't had them -- and I'm talking Democrat and Republican presidents. They have not stepped up.

And maybe before I call on Marco, I'd like to have Pat Toomey and Joe Manchin, could you just sort of detail your bill? Because I haven't heard a lot about it, actually.

TOOMEY: Thank you very much. Absolutely, Mr. President. And I do think our bill is the best chance of moving forward. We got 54 votes in 2013, the most that any bill in this space got. It has several components. The first, title, is a title that is very similar to what John Cornyn and Chris Murphy's bill does. It strengthens the reporting of information into the background check system.

TRUMP: It'll be merging it?

TOOMEY: Absolutely. Easily.

TRUMP: It's better to have one bill. It's nicer than having seven bills, and...

TOOMEY: Right. The second part has a provision that would require background checks on all commercial sales. See, one of the big gaps in our background check system today is sales at gun shows, and sales over the Internet are not necessarily subject to a background check, and we think they should be. These are essentially commercial in nature, and they're on a scale that really matters. So our bill would require those background checks.

We also have a number of provisions which we'll -- we'll...

TRUMP: Do you have support for that?

TOOMEY: For...

TRUMP: Do you have bipartisan support for what you're saying?

TOOMEY: We had 54 votes in 2013, and most of those 54 voters are still in the Senate.

TRUMP: And you didn't have a lot of presidential backup?

MANCHIN: That was our problem.

TOOMEY: President Obama did support it, but...

TRUMP: But that was your problem.

TOOMEY: But there was a worry that he wanted to go further, frankly, and -- and that was a concern for some of our guys.

So I'll just say, there's two other items. One is a list of ways in which a law-abiding citizen could have greater freedom to exercise the Second Amendment; for instance, allowing an active duty military person to be able to buy a firearm in his home state. Today, that's against the law. It shouldn't be. Our bill would correct that. A number of other small things.

TRUMP: (Inaudible)

TOOMEY: And then finally, we'd create a commission to look at the sources and causes of these terrible mass killings.

TRUMP: What are you doing in the schools?

MANCHIN: (inaudible). We have the school safety program in this bill, also. When I was governor, we fixed a lot of schools. WE remodeled a lot of schools, and built a lot of schools, and not one architect ever told us, say, "Governor Manchin, you've got to make sure you have the first -- first floor windows all bulletproof." We never knew that. No one ever came to me with that concern.

TRUMP: Right.

MANCHIN: And that's how the boy at Sandy Hook shot his way in. So we made sure that we addressed all that. Mr. President, the difference is this: There's not a person in West Virginia that believes that you're not going to defend their Second Amendment rights -- not a person. With you taking a lead on something like this, it gives them the comfort that something reasonable -- and this bill's been vetted for over five years, and over 70, 80 percent, even, of gun owners say, "We like your bill, Pat and Joe. We're just afraid that President Obama would take it further, and take more rights away." That's what I was running into in West Virginia.

TRUMP: Or use that as an excuse not to sign it.

MANCHIN: Well, this is not...

TRUMP: Because he was not proactive in getting a bill signed, in all fairness.

MANCHIN: Well, and in all fairness, this is a bill that basically, with your support, it would pass. It would pass. And we think it -- basically, it takes commercial sales, any commercial transfer...

TRUMP: And maybe, too, that bill, if we use that as a base, you could add some of the things that are going to be said in the room, or you may not want to. But there are going to be things that are going to be said today that I think will be, you know, in addition to yours, Joe, which, you can add almost everything, because you know what that involves.

MANCHIN: Right.

TRUMP: I think it would be a very positive thing, in terms of background checks.

MANCHIN: Well, I would just say this, Mr. President.

TRUMP: Go ahead.

MANCHIN: This -- On this piece of legislation here, with -- without background checks on commercial transactions -- So if a person basically -- when the -- when the terrorists basically say, "Hey, go down to the local gun show and get whatever you want." Because you can be in a gun show. Two-thirds of the gun show could have licensed dealers, federal licensed dealers that have to have background checks if you buy it from them. Go to the next table over, there was not one. That's a loophole.

Interstate / intrastate -- If you're selling outside the state on the Internet, you have to have a background check.

TRUMP: OK.

MANCHIN: If you sell in state, one part of New York versus the other, doesn't have to. This closes all those loop holes.

TRUMP: (inaudible)

MANCHIN: This is a piece of legislation... TRUMP: Well, we have to do something about the mentally ill not being able to buy a gun. I mean, they have so many checks and balances that you can be mentally ill and it takes you six months before you can prohibit it. So, we have to do something very decisive.

Number one, you can take the guns away immediately from people that you can adjudge easily are mentally ill, like this guy. The police saw that he was problem, they didn't take any guns away. Now that could have been policing. I think they should have taken them away anyway, whether they had the right on not.

But, I'll tell you this, you have to have very strong provisions for the mentally ill. Now a lot of people are saying, oh I shouldn't be saying that. I tell you what, I don't want mentally ill people to be having guns. Marco?

RUBIO: Mr. President, thanks for bringing us here because I think we all agree -- we all know what the issues are that are fought over on this issue, but I think what everyone agrees on is we never want to see this happen again anywhere in America.

And you mentioned something about the shooting that I think is critical, this was a multi-systemic failure. And without pointing fingers or laying blame on anyone in particular that may or may be here to defend themselves, the sheriff's office knew this was a problem, the school districts knew this was a problem, the FBI had been alerted to a problem, the Department of Children and Families in Florida knew that this was problem, but the big problem is none of them talked to each other.

Nobody told the others what they knew and there is a bill out there that Senator Hatch is going to file very soon and Congressman Rutherford and others here have already filed and it's call the Stop School Violence Act and I'll let them describe it more in detail. But, one of the things that it does, is it incentivizes the creation of this sort of synergy where all these people are talking to each other so they can compare notes and get ahead of this.

The best way to prevent these is to stop it before it even starts. That doesn't mean we shouldn't harden schools, that doesn't mean we shouldn't have a debate on some other issues, but the best thing that could happen is know who these people are and get on them and get them the services they need and deny them the right to buy any gun.

And I think that is something that holds tremendous bipartisan promise if we can come together on the things agree on and I would say one last point, in the state of Florida they have a very different process than we do, but they are already moving on legislation, the Governor and the Legislature.

They're going to pass something, perhaps by the end of this week, on a series of things. Now, we move a lot slower over here, but nonetheless, I think that's an example to us of what I hope we can do in Washington, get done what we can agree on and we can still debate and try to act on some of the other things, but there are things we agree on, we owe it to these families to do those things. TRUMP: I agree Marc. Chuck, we have anything?

GRASSLEY: I would like to comment from this standpoint, first of all, I caution on mental health, because there's a lot of people that have mental health issues that are not dangerous to themselves or to others. So, I think we've got to concentrate on those, not just that have mental health issues, but the ones that show danger to themselves or others, because otherwise it's not fair to other people that have mental illness that isn't.

I'll comment on the culture within the schools, but I can't say anything better than Senator Rubio would say it or Senator Hatch would say it, but it seems to me we have to have a culture in our schools where our people are attuned to people that have problems that could create this massacre sort of things or anything else that is even connected with bullying, as just one example.

We have to do things at the federal level that will guild schools or resources to do that. So, that kind of fits in with what Senator Hatch is saying.

Then I'll end with more of a process, as Chairman of the Committee that will deal with a lot of this legislation, we've got to do something, I want to help facilitate those things and move them along and see what we can do...

TRUMP: You'll be great, I have no doubt about it.

GRASSLEY: ...to get a consensus.

TRUMP: You're going to be a great help. Thanks Chuck. I'd just like to ask Gerald and Pat, in your bill what are you doing about the 18 to 21?

TOOMEY: We need to change that.

TRUMP: Okay, are you going to leave that?

TOOMEY: That's -- whatever you want.

TRUMP: So, you have a case right now were somebody can buy a handgun at 21 -- now this is not a popular thing to say in terms of the NRA, but I'm saying anyway, I'm going to just have to say it, but you can't buy -- I mean think of it, you can buy a handgun, you can't buy one, you have to wait till your 21, but you can buy the kind of weapon used in the school shooting at 18.

I think it's something you have to think about.

So, I'll tell you what, I'm going to give it a lot of consideration and I'm the one bringing it up, but a lot of people don't even want to bring it up because they're afraid to bring it up, but you can't buy a handgun at 18, 19 or 20. You have to wait till your 21, but you can buy the gun, the weapon used in this horrible shooting at 18.

TRUMP: You are going to decide, the people in this room pretty much, you're going to decide. But, I would give very serious thought to it. I can say that the NRA is opposed to it and I'm a fan of the NRA. I mean, there's no bigger fan. I'm a big fan of the NRA. They wanted to (ph) -- these are great people. These are great patriots. They love our country. But that doesn't mean we have to agree on everything. It doesn't make sense that I have to wait until I'm 21 to get a handgun but I can get this weapon at 18. I don't know.

So I was just curious as to what you did in your film.

TOOMEY: We didn't -- we didn't address, it, Mr. President. But I think we...

TRUMP: You know why? Because you're afraid of the NRA, right?

(OFF-MIKE)

It's a big issue right now, and a lot of people are talking about it. But a lot of people -- a lot of people are afraid of that issue. Raising the age for that weapon to 21.

(OFF-MIKE)

TOOMEY: Yes, I have a suggestion, because (ph) my reservation about it, frankly, is that the vast majority of 18, 19, and 20-year olds in Pennsylvania who have a rifle or a shotgun, they're not a threat to anyone. They're law-abiding citizens. They have that because they want to use it for hunting or target shooting, and to deny them their 2nd Amendment right is not going to make anyone safer. So that's my reservation about changing the age.

TRUMP: I know where you're coming from, and I understand that. I mean, no, I understand that. I think it's -- I think it's a position. It's a position. But I think if we're going to use you as a base, the two of you, I think you're going to have to iron out that problem.

Because I'm asked that question more than almost any other question. "Are you -- are you going to 21 or not?" OK? Anybody, yes? Steve?

DAINES: Mr. President, I sit around this table, like many, is a father of four, as an uncle. I was with the Councilwoman Estee Williams (ph), and she won her election -- we were campaigning at the same time when Newtown happened, while she was campaigning.

The first four words she said to me, Mr. President, struck with me, says, "We need to act." But the only worse thing than doing nothing is doing something that doesn't achieve the intended results. You were in business your entire life, I was in business for 28 years; business is not about activities and doing things, it's about our results.

The act of shooting kids is cowardly. Moms and dads want to know that when they drop off their kids, they are safe.

This morning I came in early, I bypassed the gym -- get an excuse, perhaps, to bypass the gym, and go in to spend some time thinking when nobody else is in the office, it's 7:00 am, and I just put together a sheet of the 14 mass killings -- and Congress defined mass killings following the Newtown incident, that means if there are three or more people lost their lives, and it's considered a mass killing.

Since Columbine, we've had 14 of these in our country. And my staff put together a nice spreadsheet, but I was handwriting this this morning. Looking up where did it happen? What year? How many died? What was the age of the shooter; if under 21, how was the firearm obtained? What was the weapon used? And what was the status of the shooter? Most of these, by the way, are suicides.

TRUMP: And was there offensive firepower on the inside of those facilities so that, when the gunman comes in, we have defensive capability? And one other thing. If he knew there was offensive power inside of the 14 events, probably none of them would have happened.

DAINES: So, a message of deterrent...

TRUMP: It's very important for people to understand.

DAINES: Mr. President, a message of deterrence I think is very important as we think about stopping these homicidal, suicidal killers.

There were meetings in here right after 9/11, after that horrible event occurred. There were meetings over in the situation room right after it occurred. And we made the decision as a nation, we're going to secure our skies. We can never let that happen again. We had to restore the trust of the public to get back on airplanes.

Mr. President, we need to secure our schools because parents want action now. We have some huge society issues, demographically, these shooters typically are males, they're white, and they're suicidal.

TRUMP: And they're cowards.

DAINES: And they're cowards. And cowards -- cowards -- can be stopped with deadly force. And that's why I agree with you, that we need to secure our schools, and allow the states and the school boards to figure that out. I think there's a role in the federal government, but I agree with that.

And, second, Marco talked about what happened in Florida. Last week in Montana, I was just north of a school the day after they stopped and arrested an 18-year old in Darby, Montana, because he put on Snapchat he was going to shoot up the school.

The Sheriff Steve Holton of Ravalli County arrested that young man, and most likely prevented another mass shooting. That's what we need.