--- title: President Trump Says He Would Have Engaged Florida Shooter description: "I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon," President Trump said Monday of the deadly school shooting in Florida. canonical: https://time.com/5175857/president-trump-florida-shooting/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-26T17:38:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:26:34.719Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Says He Would've Engaged the Florida Shooter Even Without a Weapon og:description: 'I'd run in there' og:url: https://time.com/5175857/president-trump-florida-shooting/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe50241da8dff594/698928adab6d77ea236b1e32/donald-trump-north-korea-shipping-sanctions.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3658 og:image:height: 2058 og:image:alt: Presidetn Trump departs to CPAC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Says He Would've Engaged the Florida Shooter Even Without a Weapon twitter:description: 'I'd run in there' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe50241da8dff594/698928adab6d77ea236b1e32/donald-trump-north-korea-shipping-sanctions.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'I'd Run in There.' Trump Says He Would've Engaged the Florida Shooter Even Without a Weapon > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Feb 26, 2018 5:38 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks to media on the South Lawn as he leaves the White House on February 23, 2018 in Washington, D.C., to participate on the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxen Hill, MD. President Donald Trump speaks to media on the South Lawn as he leaves the White House on February 23, 2018 in Washington, D.C., to participate on the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxen Hill, MD. Oliver Contreras—Sipa USA/AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Feb 26, 2018 5:38 PM UTC President Trump harshly criticized the Broward County deputies who reportedly didn’t immediately enter [Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School](http://time.com/5158804/marjory-stoneman-douglas-high-school-shooting/) during the Feb. 14 [mass shooting](http://time.com/5158678/what-to-know-about-the-active-shooter-situation-at-florida-high-school/), saying he would have been braver in their place. “You don’t know until you’re tested, but I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon,” Trump told a gathering of 39 governors at the White House Monday morning. The deputies, he said, “weren’t exactly Medal of Honor winners,” and “the way they performed was frankly disgusting.” The school’s resource officer [has already resigned](http://time.com/5171755/broward-sheriff-deputy-resigns-video-parkland-florida-school-shooting/) for not going inside the school while the shooting took place. [_USA Today_ reports](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/24/florida-high-school-shooting-more-deputies-under-investigation-response-report-says/370253002/) that the county is investigating a claim that other deputies also hesitated to engage with the shooter who took the lives of [17 people](http://time.com/5160564/florida-high-school-shooting-victims-names/). Trump has vowed to take action on gun policy in the wake of the shooting, directing his Justice Department to [ban bump stocks,](http://time.com/4970720/trump-bump-stocks-ban/) accessories that increase the speed of fire on semiautomatic weapons. “I’m writing that out myself, I don’t care if Congress does it or not,” he said. He also said he’ll focus on strengthening mental health resources and background checks — “If we see a sicko, I don’t want him having a gun,” he said — and suggested arming teachers and school administrators. Trump added Monday that his idea to arm teachers [has been misconstrued](http://time.com/5172245/armmewith-teachers-gun-control/). “The headline was, ‘Trump wants all teachers to have guns,'” he said. “I don’t want teachers to have guns. I want highly-trained people that have a natural talent, like hitting a baseball or hitting a golf ball or \[golf\] putting.” But he said above all, he wants to break the cycle of talking about reforms in the wake of a mass shooting and then “all of a sudden everybody is off to the next subject.” “We’ll turn our grief into action,” the President said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5175857/president-trump-florida-shooting/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5175857/president-trump-florida-shooting/"},"headline":"'I'd Run in There.' 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