A Trump White House official reportedly said coverage of the mass shooting at a Florida high school last week has given the administration “a reprieve” from having to deal with bad publicity.

“For everyone, it was a distraction or a reprieve,” the official told the Washington Post. “A lot of people here felt like it was a reprieve from seven or eight days of just getting pummeled.”

The official said there was a similar calm in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 dead and hundreds more injured.

“But as we all know, sadly, when the coverage dies down a little bit, we’ll be back through the chaos,” the official reportedly said.

Prior to the news that a gunman had attacked Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people, the White House was facing intense scrutiny over its mishandling of domestic abuse allegations against former staff secretary Rob Porter – claims Mr Porter denied.

The shooting gave aides an opportunity to focus on handling a crisis that wasn’t of their own making, the Post said.

Florida shooting – in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Florida shooting – in pictures Florida shooting – in pictures Police arrest a suspect in connection with the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida Reuters Florida shooting – in pictures Parents wait for news after reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida AP Florida shooting – in pictures Anxious family members wait for news of students AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Florida shooting – in pictures Students being evacuated from the school AP Florida shooting – in pictures Students being evacuated from the school Getty Florida shooting – in pictures People gather waiting for word from students AP Florida shooting – in pictures Parents waiting for news on their children AP Florida shooting – in pictures People gather at a hotel where students were taken after the shooting Getty Florida shooting – in pictures Florida Governor Rick Scott speaks to the media as he visits Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following the shooting AFP/Getty Florida shooting – in pictures Dr. Igor Nichiporenko, Medical Director Trauma, left, and Dr. Evan Boyer, Medical Director, Emergency Services, speak about treating victims and the suspect at a press conference outside Broward Health North hospital AP

Mr Trump travelled to Florida on Friday and met with survivors of the shooting.

He then travelled to his Mar-a-Lago estate, where he spent some of the weekend ranting on Twitter about the FBI, former President Barack Obama and an investigation into alleged ties between his presidential campaign and Russia.