Donald Trump defended his rhetoric and and said he wants to strengthen background checks for Americans buying guns in the wake of two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.

Mr Trump is on Wednesday visiting Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, the scene of two recent mass shootings. Local Democrat politicians in both places had urged him not to go.

On Saturday, a gunman killed 22 people in El Paso, on the border with Mexico. Police said he apparently was driven by hatred for Hispanics.

In Dayton a gunman killed nine people, including his sister, before he was killed by police.