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After mass shootings, Trump suggests linking gun background-check legislation with immigration reform
President Trump on Monday morning called for "strong background checks" while suggesting this legislation be tied with immigration reform in the wake of two deadly mass shootings that left nearly 30 people dead.
Trump on Monday wrote that "we cannot let those killed in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, die in vain" and that "Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks." He added that "perhaps" this legislation could be tied with "desperately needed immigration reform."
Trump previously expressed support for changes to background checks for gun purchases after the February 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The House of Representatives has already passed background-check legislation this year that hasn't been brought up for a vote in the Senate. In the wake of the mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso, Democrats called for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to reconvene the Senate in order to pass the House's legislation.
In a subsequent tweet, Trump placed blame on the news media for "the anger and rage that has built up over many years."
Trump is set to speak further on the shootings in a statement from the White House at about 10:00 a.m. Eastern.