Trump said ‘perhaps’ more needs to be done on gun control following two mass shootings
David Jackson, USA TODAY
Wrapping up an out-of-sight weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., President Donald Trump said Sunday that “perhaps” more needs to be done with respect to gun control.
“Hate has no place in our country and we’re going to take care of it,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One to return to Washington, D.C.
Trump said he will make a statement Monday on the two mass shootings over the weekend and what can be done in response. Trump said he has also spoken with Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray about the mass violence.
He said his statement will be at around 10 a.m. on Monday.
Trump spoke as Democrats accused him of all but encouraging violence through his rhetorical attacks on migrants and lawmakers who oppose him.
“We have a President of the United States that uses white nationalist rhetoric and engages in racism,” said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. “From its early days, the Trump Administration has sought to limit funding to groups dedicated to countering white extremism.”
Trump did not discuss specific ideas but said “a lot” is already being done to keep guns out of the wrong hands, and he has spoken to many governors and members of Congress about the issue.
He said his administration has done a lot, but: “Perhaps more has to be done.”
More than 24 hours after the first reports of the shooting in El Paso, Trump spoke on camera with reporters for about three minutes.
Again expressing condolences to the victims’ families, Trump also congratulated law enforcement agencies in Texas and Ohio for their responses.
“As bad as it was, it could have been so much worse,” Trump said. “We have to get it stopped. This has been going on for years.”
Trump spent the weekend behind the gates of his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., out of sight from reporters.
“God bless the people of El Paso,” Trump tweeted as he prepared to leave Bedminster back en route to Washington. “God bless the people of Dayton, Ohio.”
He also tweeted that he has authorized the lowering of flags at federal buildings to Hal-staff in honor of the victims.
Another guest posted pictures of Trump on Instagram as he dropped in on a wedding held at the club Saturday night. The president frequently appears at events on his properties when he is staying at them.
It is not known for sure whether he played golf this weekend, but he was expected to. After an El Paso tweet, Trump sent a good luck message to mixed martial arts champion Colby Covington.
Trump sometimes uses Twitter to comment on the Sunday news programs. He did not do so Sunday, even though a string of Democrats said Trump is contributing to the climate of violence with his attacks on minority’s lawmakers and migrants who enter the United States illegally.