President Donald Trump Credit:AP It was a jarring contrast for Trump just a day after his emotional meeting with students and parents affected by recent school massacres. Earlier on Thursday morning, before a tweet praising the NRA, Trump went the furthest he's ever gone on gun control, saying he'd push for tougher background checks that screen for mental health, raising the minimum age of buyers to 21, and ending the sale of bump stocks. Loading Trump also suggested to local officials at the White House meeting that schools concentrate more on hardening facilities to withstand rifle fire. But he opposed mandating active shooting drills -- which have become increasingly common -- saying that rehearsing for a possibly violent event could upset students. Wayne LaPierre, chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association Credit:Bloomberg

"Active shooter drills is a very negative thing, have to be honest with you," Trump said, "I'd much rather have a hardened school." He added that he wouldn't want his son to be told he was going through an active shooter drill. "I think it's very bad for children." LaPierre called for more armed security at schools and criticised the notion of making schools "gun-free zones," which he said are targets for potential shooters, echoing comments Trump has made. The NRA chief lashed out at Democrats including Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who has long pushed for tighter gun laws, for "politicising" the Florida shooting. He said "elites" want to "eradicate all individual freedoms." "They want to sweep right under the carpet the failure of school security, the failure of family, the failure of America's mental health system, and even the unbelievable failure of the FBI," LaPierre said. The NRA is one of the biggest spenders in elections, ranking 9th among all outside groups, according to the Centre for Responsive Politics. In 2016, the NRA's political arms spent $US54.4 million influencing elections, Federal Election Commission records show, including $US19.8 million attacking Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and $US11.4 million promoting Trump. The NRA also spent $US500,000 or more on 7 Senate races, including in battleground states Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Trump was endorsed by the NRA and has routinely touted his support for the organisation, and his campaign said he opposed expanding the background check system or imposing new restrictions on gun and magazine bans. Trump is expected to speak at the CPAC event on Friday. Gun stocks rose on Thursday after declining the two prior days. Shares in American Outdoor Brands Corp. rose 2.8 per cent to $US10.34 and Sturm Ruger & Co. was up 5 per cent to $US49.55 at 1.30 p.m. New York time. While Trump said he would push "comprehensive background checks" with an emphasis on mental health, an Obama-era gun rule aimed at preventing people with serious mental illness from buying guns was one of the first targets of Republicans in Congress last year. Lawmakers used a special procedure under the Congressional Review Act to do away with the rule. Trump announced on Tuesday he would propose regulations to ban "bump stocks" used to allow semi-automatic rifles to fire like automatic weapons. He signalled support for bipartisan legislation to improve data collection for the federal gun-sale background check system. Trump said he called many lawmakers on Wednesday evening to discuss background checks and that many prior opponents of toughening them have changed their minds.

His support for arming teachers would eliminate the gun-free zones in and around schools enshrined in a nearly three-decade-old federal law. Trump said in a tweet earlier Thursday that 20 per cent of teachers "would now be able to immediately fire back if a savage sicko came to a school with bad intentions. Highly trained teachers would also serve as a deterrent to the cowards that do this." The idea prompted sharp rebukes from some Democrats and misgivings from at least one prominent Republican. Murphy said on CNN that the proposal was "a recipe for disaster," adding that there was no evidence that it would prevent shootings. Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, told a CNN town hall meeting on Wednesday that he opposed arming teachers.

Trump on Thursday tried to explain his rationale for arming school staff members. "History shows that a school shooting lasts, on average, 3 minutes," Trump tweeted. "It takes police & first responders approximately 5 to 8 minutes to get to site of crime. Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!" "If a potential 'sicko shooter' knows that a school has a large number of very weapons talented teachers (and others) who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will NEVER attack that school. Cowards won't go there...problem solved. Must be offensive, defense alone won't work!" Trump wrote. Trump has signalled support for a bipartisan Senate bill that would strengthen current laws requiring federal agencies to report information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The House passed a similar bill in December, but added legislation that would require states to recognise concealed carry licenses from other states. House conservatives would likely balk at separating the two issues, while the House version of the bill would likely fail in the Senate. A Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday found 97 per cent support for universal background checks, while 67 per cent backed a ban on the sale of assault weapons. Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P., which operates Bloomberg News, serves as a member of Everytown for Gun Safety's advisory board and is a donor to the group. Everytown for Gun Safety advocates for universal background checks and other gun control measures.