By CATHERINE LUCEY and JONATHAN LEMIRE
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.— President Donald Trump offered support Monday for an effort to strengthen the federal gun background check system as he hunkered down at his private Florida golf course just 40 miles from last week’s deadly school shooting.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president spoke on Friday to Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, about a bipartisan bill designed to strengthen the FBI database of prohibited gun buyers.
“While discussions are ongoing and revisions are being considered, the President is supportive of efforts to improve the Federal background check system,” Sanders said in a statement.
Trump, who is spending the weekend at his private Palm Beach estate, started President’s Day at his nearby golf club. The White House did not immediately answer questions about whether he was playing golf. The president spent most of the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, as White House aides advised against golfing too soon after the shooting at a Parkland high school that left 17 dead.
Trump spent much of the holiday weekend watching cable television news and grousing to club members and advisers about the investigation of Russian election meddling.
In a marathon series of furious weekend tweets from Mar-a-Lago, Trump vented about Russia, raging at the FBI for what he perceived to be a fixation on the Russia investigation at the cost of failing to deter the attack on a Florida high school. He made little mention of the nearby school shooting victims and the escalating gun control debate.
Surviving students have called for tougher gun control and are planning a march in Washington next month. Trump has focused his comments on mental health, rather than guns.
The White House said Sunday the president will host a “listening session” with students and teachers this week, but offered no details on who would attend or what would be discussed.
The bipartisan background check legislation would be aimed at ensuring that federal agencies and states accurately report relevant criminal information to the FBI. It was introduced after the Air Force failed to report the criminal history of the gunman who slaughtered more than two dozen people at a Texas church.
Trump has been a strong supporter of gun rights and the National Rifle Association. Last year, he signed a resolution blocking an Obama-era rule designed to keep guns out of the hands of certain mentally disabled people.
Trump was last seen publicly Friday night when he visited Parkland. He fired off tweets Saturday and Sunday and met House Speaker Paul Ryan Sunday afternoon. He also visited the golf club Sunday night.
President Barack Obama took heavy criticism in 2014 when he went golfing during a vacation just minutes after denouncing the militants who had beheaded an American journalist. He later regretted playing golf so soon after the killing.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated since the indictment from special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday charged 13 Russians with a plot to interfere in the U.S. presidential election.
On Twitter, Trump stressed that the Russian effort began before he declared his candidacy and asserted that the Obama administration bears some blame for it. He also insisted he never denied that the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 U.S. campaign, although in fact he has frequently challenged the veracity of the evidence.
Trump tweeted about the nation’s “heavy heart” after the shooting in Parkland. But he also sought to use the shooting to criticize the nation’s leading law enforcement agency.
Trump said late Saturday that the FBI “missed all of the many signals” sent by the suspect and argued that agents are “spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign.”
The FBI received a tip last month that the man now charged in the school shooting had a “desire to kill” and access to guns and could be plotting an attack. But the agency said Friday that agents failed to investigate.
___
Lemire contributed from Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Source: Oc Register
Trump backs efforts to bolster FBI gun background checks
More from CrimeMore posts in Crime »
- Haiti’s fragile health system nearing collapse as chaos grips country
- OC woman falls to death while hiking with family on Bear Mountain in Sedona, Arizona
- Recently arrested Morgan Wallen says he’s ‘not proud’ of behavior
- 4 Inland men sentenced to prison for roles in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
- In reversal, more areas allow high-speed police chases
More from EducationMore posts in Education »
- Bill allowing kids to pull animals from fair auctions (and slaughter) faces opposition
- USC cancels valedictorian’s commencement speech citing safety concerns
- After pandemic pause, Caltech restores standardized testing requirement for incoming undergrads
- Students build foundation for construction industry futures
- Nearly half high school graduates don’t qualify to apply to a California university
More from electionsMore posts in elections »
- Huntington Beach councilmembers pledge to fight state’s lawsuit over city’s voter ID measure
- At least 104 Southern California voters mailed their ballots on time. They weren’t counted
- With 399 victims, Mexico campaign violence is already at record
- Sacramento Snapshot: How the state Senate may tackle election policy work this year
- Politics and faith intertwine at Orange County church
More from National NewsMore posts in National News »
- Spirit Airlines shows improvements, but still finishes last in travel industry customer satisfaction study
- Pro-Palestinian student protests target colleges’ financial ties with Israel
- OC woman falls to death while hiking with family on Bear Mountain in Sedona, Arizona
- Navy review highlights challenges behind yearslong shipbuilding delays
- After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family
More from NewsMore posts in News »
- Biden administration sets higher staffing mandates. Most nursing homes don’t meet them
- Spirit Airlines shows improvements, but still finishes last in travel industry customer satisfaction study
- Pro-Palestinian student protests target colleges’ financial ties with Israel
- Dana Point Planning Commission sets hours for embattled Headlands bluff-top trail
- Sammy’s Law in California seeks to protect youth from social media drug sales
More from Top Stories BreezeMore posts in Top Stories Breeze »
- Plan to kill Catalina deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by county
- Reunited and it feels so good: Voyager 1 is talking sense again
- Senior living: The importance of proper nutrition as you age
- Man breaks in to home of LA Mayor Karen Bass, is arrested
- After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family
More from top stories ivdbMore posts in top stories ivdb »
- Redlands boots embattled LA developer from homeless housing program
- Plan to kill Catalina deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by county
- Reunited and it feels so good: Voyager 1 is talking sense again
- San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy used alias in double life as alleged outlaw biker
- After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family
More from Top Stories LADNMore posts in Top Stories LADN »
- Redlands boots embattled LA developer from homeless housing program
- Plan to kill Catalina deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by county
- Reunited and it feels so good: Voyager 1 is talking sense again
- Man breaks in to home of LA Mayor Karen Bass, is arrested
- After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family
More from Top Stories LBPTMore posts in Top Stories LBPT »
- Plan to kill Catalina deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by county
- Reunited and it feels so good: Voyager 1 is talking sense again
- Senior living: The importance of proper nutrition as you age
- Rich Archbold: Kids enjoy roar of Grand Prix of Long Beach thanks to King Taco
- Grand Prix of Long Beach’s final day is here — and it’ll be a fun one
More from Top Stories OCRMore posts in Top Stories OCR »
- Dana Point Planning Commission sets hours for embattled Headlands bluff-top trail
- Plan to kill Catalina deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by county
- Reunited and it feels so good: Voyager 1 is talking sense again
- Nonprofit accuses Orange of using unrealistic parcels in its housing plan
- Bill allowing kids to pull animals from fair auctions (and slaughter) faces opposition
More from Top Stories PEMore posts in Top Stories PE »
- Redlands boots embattled LA developer from homeless housing program
- Plan to kill Catalina deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by county
- Reunited and it feels so good: Voyager 1 is talking sense again
- San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy used alias in double life as alleged outlaw biker
- After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family
More from Top Stories PSNMore posts in Top Stories PSN »
- Plan to kill Catalina deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by county
- Reunited and it feels so good: Voyager 1 is talking sense again
- After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family
- 37% more Southern California workers added in March than average
- Amid valedictorian protest, USC scrubs outside commencement speakers, honorees
More from top stories rdfMore posts in top stories rdf »
- Redlands boots embattled LA developer from homeless housing program
- Plan to kill Catalina deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by county
- Reunited and it feels so good: Voyager 1 is talking sense again
- San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy used alias in double life as alleged outlaw biker
- After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family
More from Top Stories SGVTMore posts in Top Stories SGVT »
- Plan to kill Catalina deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by county
- Reunited and it feels so good: Voyager 1 is talking sense again
- After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family
- 37% more Southern California workers added in March than average
- Amid valedictorian protest, USC scrubs outside commencement speakers, honorees
More from top stories sunMore posts in top stories sun »
- Redlands boots embattled LA developer from homeless housing program
- Plan to kill Catalina deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by county
- Reunited and it feels so good: Voyager 1 is talking sense again
- San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy used alias in double life as alleged outlaw biker
- After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family
More from Top Stories WDNMore posts in Top Stories WDN »
- Plan to kill Catalina deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by county
- Reunited and it feels so good: Voyager 1 is talking sense again
- After 25 years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family
- 37% more Southern California workers added in March than average
- Amid valedictorian protest, USC scrubs outside commencement speakers, honorees
Be First to Comment