Advertisement
Tech

Trump once tweeted that he definitely didn’t ‘want guns brought into the school classroom’

There’s always a Tweet.

Photo of Kris Seavers

Kris Seavers

In 2016, Trump tweeted he didn't 'want guns in school classrooms.' On Wednesday, he suggested giving guns to teachers to prevent mass shootings.

During a meeting Wednesday with students from a high school in Florida where 17 people were killed last week, President Donald Trump suggested arming teachers with guns and placing armed guards in schools, directly contradicting a statement he once tweeted about allowing guns in classrooms.

Featured Video

In May 2016, Trump responded to his then-Democratic rival Hillary Clinton that she was “wrong” in thinking he wanted “guns brought into the school classroom.”

Advertisement

Trump’s statement appears to have been a response to Clinton’s tweet a week earlier declaring that Trump “would force schools to allow guns in classrooms on his first day in office.”

Advertisement

Even during his presidential campaign, Trump advocated for reversing “gun free zones” in schools. In a January 2016 interview with Petersen’s Hunting magazine, Trump said he would be willing to bypass the laws of states, which oversee public schools, to eliminate the zones.

“I’m gonna get rid of the gun free zones on the military bases. I’m also gonna do it at schools,” Trump said at the time. “If I have to, I’m gonna try and perhaps override the states.”

At the meeting on Wednesday, Trump met with students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as well as students from other school shooting sites Newtown and Columbine. During a discussion on gun control measures, Trump suggested allowing concealed carry for teachers would prevent future mass shootings.

Advertisement

“If you had a teacher who was adept at firearms, they could very well end the attack very quickly,” Trump said.

Advertisement

Trump also proposed placing armed military retirees in schools as guards, which is the same idea being spread in a popular Facebook meme.

 
The Daily Dot