President Donald Trump railed against Democrats on gun control Saturday, asking why they didn't pass legislation earlier.

His comments came on the same day as survivors of the Florida school shooting and activists rallied in Fort Lauderdale against the NRA and Trump himself.



President Donald Trump on Saturday laid the blame on Democrats for the lack of congressional action on gun control, an issue that once again rose to the forefront of public discourse after Wednesday's mass shooting in Florida.

"Just like they don't want to solve the DACA problem, why didn't the Democrats pass gun control legislation when they had both the House & Senate during the Obama Administration," Trump said on Twitter. "Because they didn't want to, and now they just talk!"

His comments came just hours after hundreds of activists and shooting survivors rallied in Fort Lauderdale against lax gun-control regulations, the National Rifle Association, and Trump himself.

A gunman killed 17 people earlier in the week after opening fire on students and staff at his former high school using a legally purchased AR-15 rifle.

Protesters hold signs at a rally calling for more gun control three days after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S., February 17, 2018. Reuters/Jonathan Drake The massacre has redirected national attention on semiautomatic firearms and the ease with which the suspected shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, purchased the weapon despite a history of behavioral problems and run-ins with police.

"To every politician who is taking donations from the NRA, shame on you," one shooting survivor, Emma Gonzalez, said in a fiery speech during Saturday's rally.

Trump's response to the Florida shooting has focused primarily on the first responders to the Florida shooting, offering little in the way of public consolation to victims or outreach to gun-control advocates.

Trump visited the Broward Health North Hospital on Friday, where he privately met with two victims and later said they were in "really great shape" considering the severity of the massacre.

He vigorously praised the authorities who responded tot he shooting and the hospital staff who treated the injured, saying they had done an "incredible" job.

Earlier on Saturday, he tweeted that he and First Lady Melania Trump "met such incredible people last night in Broward County, Florida. Will never forget them, or the evening!"