President Trump visits Dayton amid gun debate after mass shooting

WASHINGTON D.C. (NEXSTAR) – President Trump arrived in Dayton Ohio on Wednesday morning, where those impacted by this weekend’s mass shooting continue to recover.

Outside the hospital where President Trump met some of those victims and their doctors—were protestors, angry at the president’s rhetoric, which he pushed back on as he left the white house.

“I think my rhetoric brings people together,” President Trump said.

Against the backdrop of his visit, the political debate over how to stop mass shootings continued. Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown met with the president and first responders at the hospital, urging him to figure out a way to limit assault weapons.

“Republicans, for years now, have dug in and done the bidding of the NRA,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said. “I said Mr. President, respectfully, in a group of 30 or 40 people, respectfully, the most important thing you can do for these police officers is take these assault weapons off the streets,” Brown added.

But despite the senator’s plea, the president resisted calls earlier in the day for an outright ban.

“There’s a great appetite, and I mean a very strong appetite, for background checks and I think we can bring up background checks like we’ve never had before,” President Trump said.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said she also urged the president to do something.

“I think he heard me, I don’t know if he will take action, I’m hoping.”Mayor Nan Whaley, Dayton, (D) said.

What happens next depends largely on what the president decides to do—either by taking executive action on his own–or punting the issue back to congress.