You can always trust Donald Trump to answer questions with complete sentences and answers that feel helpful … said no American ever. Well, to be fair, those who follow Trump and his MAGA mantra likely say that very thing in absolute sincerity. But when a reporter asked Trump a question in the Oval Office about school shootings and the president responded with a slightly incoherent ramble, it left a lot to be desired.
In the clip, which was posted on TikTok and across social media, Trump is asked if he would deploy the National Guard to schools across the United States to help keep students and faculty safe against gun violence.
In response, Trump makes comments about using construction techniques to keep schools safer, but it doesn’t take long for his long-winded answer to, well, not answer the question as a whole.
Trump’s school shooting solution answer isn’t really an answer at all.
@sineebmoz Never beating the dementia allegations. I miss when we had presidents that could respond appropriately #trump #fyp ♬ original sound – mikey
Prior to the meeting in the clip, a shooting happened at Annunciation Church connected to a school in Minneapolis. The shooting left two children dead and more than a dozen others injured. It added to the already scorching hot ongoing debate in the US about gun violence and how to protect children while they are in school.
The question for Trump came out of potential hope for the sitting president to have a solution to the shootings and to how to keep kids safe while learning. Instead of giving the reporter an answer that would do just that in the Oval Office clip, Trump appears to take his answer in multiple different directions without even knowing himself where he plans to go.
“Well, we have a big problem with school shootings,” Trump says. So far so good, right?
Never one to actually answer the question that people need an answer to, Trump continues.
“But we also have thousands and thousands of schools that run perfectly,” he adds. “You know, they talk about, you can do things construction-wise, and that’s really, I think nobody knows more about construction than me.”
Yes, that’s it. Construction is the answer to school shootings, at least according to Trump in that clip. He might be referring to reinforced doors that are constructed to withstand extreme force and, yes, bullets. There is also bulletproof glass that can be added to schools to aid in protecting students and staff from gunfire.
According to WFMY News in Greensboro, North Carolina, however, the cost of getting bulletproof glass for schools would cost $50,000-$75,000 for one elementary school alone. We hate to be the bearer of bad news for the president, but the House of Representatives’ proposed 15% cut to the Education Department might be an issue if he wants to use “construction” to make schools safer.
