The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):
9:55 a.m.
President Donald Trump is spending President’s Day at his private golf club in West Palm Beach.
Trump has been in Florida for the weekend. He spent his time largely at his Mar-a-Lago estate as White House aides advised him against golfing too soon after a deadly school shooting in a nearby community.
The White House did not immediately answer questions about whether the president was playing golf Monday. The president also visited the golf club Sunday evening.
An avid golfer, Trump heads to one of his courses almost every weekend.
President Barack Obama took heavy criticism in 2014 when he went golfing during a vacation just minutes after denouncing the militants who had beheaded an American journalist. He later said he « should’ve anticipated the optics » of immediately going to play golf.
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9:40 a.m.
The White House says President Donald Trump supports efforts to improve the federal gun background check system after a school shooting in Florida that left 17 dead.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that the president had spoken to Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, about a bipartisan bill designed to strengthen the FBI database of prohibited gun buyers.
Sanders said, « While discussions are ongoing and revisions are being considered, the President is supportive of efforts to improve the Federal background check system. »
The bill would penalize federal agencies that fail to provide the necessary records and reward states that comply with federal grant preferences and other incentives.
Trump has been a strong supporter of gun rights and the National Rifle Association.
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