Trump Says He Would Have Gone in Unarmed to Stop Parkland School Shooter

President Trump told reporters today that he would have entered Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., even if he was unarmed, to stop their school shooter.

In an AP video posted by the New York Times, Trump said, “You don’t know until you test it, but I think, I really believe that I would run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon.”

Trump’s comments came during a meeting with governors around the country to discuss school safety. His quote was also in reaction to the news that an armed school resource officer was on the scene of the school shooting, but did not enter the building—the officer later resigned. After this story was first reported, Trump said it was “frankly disgusting.”

In regards to the nationwide gun control debate, Trump has suggested arming “firearms adept” school teachers, improving the background check system and raising the required age from 18 to 21 to buy assault rifles.

While Trump has also echoed the pivoting Republican talking point of mental health when it comes to guns, he actually signed legislation that got rid of a regulation aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of people suffering from mental illness. This Obama-era regulation required the Social Security Administration to disclose information quarterly to the national gun background check system about people with mental illnesses.

Trump also said he would not wait for Congress and would ban mechanisms that can turn semiautomatic rifles into automatic ones, like bump stocks, through executive order.

Trump also recently voiced his support for the NRA in a tweet:

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

As Congress reconvenes and as Stoneman Douglas students return to school for the first time since the shooting, all eyes are on Congress to see if any legislation is actually passed, given that there haven’t been any major gun regulations passed in the last 20 years.