CNN’s Jim Acosta made a brief appearance during Monday’s White House press briefing, questioning Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders about fears arming teachers would make schools the new “Wild West” and President Trump’s comments about how he would have stormed Stoneman Douglas High School to save lives.
“There are a lot of parents who are worried that if you have a lot of people inside these schools with weapons, that this could turn into a situation like the Wild West. What would you say to parents out there who are worried about faculty members, coaches, administrators, packing heat in school,” Acosta wondered.
Naturally, Acosta offered zero inclination that there might be parents supporting it since, you know, that didn’t fit the narrative he and CNN want to push.
Sanders responded by noting that there were parents such as one who lost his daughter in the Parkland shooting “who advocated for personnel having guns, so there's a lot of different people on both sides of this issue.”
“That's why we're continuing to have these discussions and why we’ve opened most of them up so that guys can see exactly where a number of people are and there are voices on both sides and we're doing everything we can to bring those groups together,” Sanders in part added.
Prior to that “Wild West” liberal talking point, Acosta inquired about what the President meant when he argued that he (unlike the school resource officer) would have run inside to confront the gunman regardless of whether he had a gun.
Acosta offered a follow-up to see if Sanders knew whether Trump has been “trained in firing a weapon.”
In response, Sanders dismissed that question because “I don't think that was the point he was making,” but rather that, more broadly, “he would be a leader and would want to take a courageous action and a lot of the individuals that helped protect others that day weren't carrying firearms.”
To see the relevant transcript from February 26's White House press briefing, click “expand.”
White House press briefing
February 26, 2018
3:29 p.m. EasternJIM ACOSTA: When the President said earlier today that he would have run into the school, was he suggesting that he could have saved the day? [INAUDIBLE]
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: I think he was just stating that as a leader, he would have stepped in and hopefully been able to help as a number of the individuals that were in the school, the coach and other adults and even a lot of the students stepped up and helped protect other students. I think the point he was making is that he would have wanted to have played a role in that as well.
ACOSTA: Can I just follow up on that? Is he trained in firing a weapon? Is he trained in using a handgun or a firearm of some sort?
SANDERS: I don't think that was the point he was making. He was saying that he would be a leader and would want to take a courageous action and a lot of the individuals that helped protect others that day weren't carrying firearms —
ACOSTA: A lot of parents —
SANDERS: — which I think shows that you can be helpful in that process without it.
ACOSTA: There are a lot of parents who are worried that if you have a lot of people inside these schools with weapons, that this could turn into a situation like the Wild West. What would you say to parents out there who are worried about faculty members, coaches, administrators, packing heat in school?
SANDERS: That's why we're having this conversation. There are also a lot of parents, and we heard from one of them whose daughter was tragically murdered last week, one of the parents from Parkland who advocated for personnel having guns, so there's a lot of different people on both sides of this issue. That's why we're continuing to have these discussions and why we’ve opened most of them up so that guys can see exactly where a number of people are and there are voices on both sides and we're doing everything we can to bring those groups together, to unify the country and do everything we can to make sure we're taking the biggest and the strongest steps forward in protecting America's kids.
