Trump Pressed on TX Shooting: Says South Korea Not The Place to Talk Gun Control
President Donald Trump, who is currently on the South Korea stop of his 10-day odyssey to Asia, was asked about gun control during a joint presser with President Moon Jae-in.
In the wake of the Texas mass shooting that claimed 26 lives, NBC News reporter Ali Vitali asked Trump about whether his predilection for “extreme vetting” applied to people trying to purchase firearms: “You’ve talked about wanting to put extreme vetting on people trying to come into the United States, but I wonder if you would consider extreme vetting for people trying to buy a gun?”
Trump did not take kindly to that question, and first replied that Vitali was “bringing up a situation that shouldn’t be brought up too much right now,” echoing his previous arguments that it’s always “too soon!” to talk about gun control after a mass shooting.
“We could let a little time go by but it’s okay if you feel that’s an appropriate question, even though we’re in the heart of South Korea, I will certainly answer your question,” Trump continued.
The president said that extreme vetting for gun owners could have stopped the man who eventually shot and killed the Texas shooter:
“You might not have had that very brave person who happened to have a gun or a rifle in his truck go out and shoot him, and hit him and neutralize him. And I can only say this: If he didn’t have a gun, instead of having 26 dead, you would have had hundreds more dead. So that’s the way I feel about it. Not going to help.”
“And are you considering any kind of gun control policy going forward?” Vitali followed up.
Trump replied by claiming the city of Chicago has the “strongest gun laws in our nation” and is still “a total disaster” (fact check: Chicago does not have the strongest gun laws in the country — and experts say most of the guns used in violent crime in the city are imported illegally from neighboring states with more lax gun laws.)
Watch above, via ABC News.
[image via screengrab]
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