2A/CRISIS/GUNS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump has spent a week grappling with the school shooting that left 17 dead in Parkland, Florida, and Wednesday [2-21-18], he finally found his own way to respond, playing host on live television to dozens of grieving parents and students directly affected by a spate of shootings that have rocked the country.
For about an hour, the president moderated a frank and wide-ranging discussion among families from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Sandy Hook Elementary, Columbine High School and local Washington schools. On policy matters, the participants represented a range of views, with two participants sharply disagreeing over whether to impose greater restrictions on gun purchases and whether school staff should be armed.
Since the shooting, the president has been looking for a way to take action on guns in response to cries from gun-control advocates and emotional students, whose images have been plastered across television screens around the clock, without alienating his pro-gun base, which he courted with promises to support the Second Amendment… The conversation also provided a forum for grieving parents to air raw emotions and confront some of the leaders they say have failed them…
The White House said that Pollack, who was accompanied by his wife and two sons, decided to participate in the listening session after meeting privately with the president.”
-Eliana Johnson and Cristiano Lima, “Amid student anger, Trump hosts live White House special on gun violence,” Politico, Feb. 21, 2018 09:28pm