It was good for President Donald Trump to directly denounce white supremacists and say that hate does not belong in the United States, but he also must address his rhetoric, Sen. Chris Coons said Thursday.
"I think that we are in for a rough presidential (election) season if there is more and more divisive rhetoric on both sides," the Delaware Democrat told Fox News' "Fox and Friends," while adding he thought it was good for Trump to visit El Paso and Dayton on Wednesday.
"I was puzzled by the ways in which the president attacked some of the folks, the mayor of Dayton and Sen. Sherrod Brown after their visit," Coons added. "There seems to be a disagreement about who said what about whom in these visits."
Meanwhile, Coons said he and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, are putting together a bill that will make sure state and local law enforcement are promptly notified if a felon tries to buy a gun, as in many states, that information "goes nowhere."
Toomey and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., are also working on legislation to close some of the loopholes in the nation's gun control laws.
"It simply means there would be one more layer of protection to ensure that those Americans who are exercising their Second Amendment right are doing so responsibly and that we are taking action to keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn't have them," said Coons.
He added that he thinks there should be a federal "red flag law" that allows family members to notify law enforcement when people are taking threatening actions, including making kill lists or speaking to teachers, classmates, and parents in a way that is disturbing.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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