White House press secretary Sarah Sanders fought back tears after a student asked her about what the Trump administration is doing to combat gun violence in schools.
Sanders was questioned by Benje Choucroun, 13, during Wednesday’s White House press briefing who recalled that his school recently had a lockdown drill and said he and his friends are worried they could be shot at school.
Choucroun, a student at Marin Country Day School in Madera, Calif., according to USA Today, wanted to know what the administration has done and will do to “prevent these senseless tragedies.”
“I think that as a kid and certainly as a parent, there is nothing that could be more terrifying for a kid to go to school and not feel safe. I’m sorry you feel that way,” Sanders replied, visibly holding back tears.
“This administration takes it seriously, and the school safety commission that the president convened is meeting this week in an official meeting to discuss the best ways forward and how we can do every single thing within our power to protect kids in our schools and to make them feel safe and make their parents feel good about dropping them off,” she continued.
Sanders becomes emotional when asked by student reporter what Trump was doing to prevent school shootings: “This administration takes it seriously.” pic.twitter.com/fVYs9I9tRo
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 30, 2018
Created in March and led by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the Federal Commission on School Safety aims to address school safety and curb violence in schools.
The commission was established in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting at a high school in Parkland Fla., that left 17 people dead.
The group was tasked with focusing on age restrictions for firearm purchases, the consumption of violent entertainment, and devising ways to use federal resources to prevent school shootings, among other topics.
DeVos said this month following a deadly shooting at a high school in Sante Fe, Texas, that society needed to examine the underlying issues that “create a culture of violence” and said the school safety commission would deliver best practices by the end of the year.
