Trump wants to do 'something' about the Florida shooting, but no one seems quite sure what
President Trump offered little indication of his preferred policy response to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting earlier this week, but privately he has been telling people "we have to do something," ABC News reports. Although it is not clear what form that action might take — White House sources said they weren't sure what the president was considering — The New Yorker notes that Trump's lone call for a policy response in his address was to "tackle the difficult issue of mental health."
Others have also noted that the issue is "difficult," to say the least. Adam Gopnik writes at The New Yorker that Trump's calls so far say "nothing" because "every country contains mentally ill and potentially violent people. Only America arms them." Trump signed legislation last year nullifying a rule designed to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental illness.
White House spokesman Raj Shah has confirmed Trump is exploring potential responses: "The president wants to take leadership and actually fix this problem and create best practices across the country," Shah said on Fox News. "There are a lot of specific policy proposal we'll be looking at."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
How travel insurance through a credit card worksThe explainer Use a card with built-in coverage to book your next trip
-
‘We owe it to our young people not to lie to them anymore’instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Chile picks leftist, far-right candidates for runoff voteSpeed Read The presidential runoff election will be between Jeannette Jara, a progressive from President Gabriel Boric’s governing coalition, and far-right former congressman José Antonio Kast
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
