President Trump on Thursday praised the NRA’s leadership.

President Trump on Thursday praised the NRA's leadership, specifically mentioning executive director Chris Cox and Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president and CEO. "What many people don't understand, or don't want to understand, is that Wayne, Chris and the folks who work so hard at the @NRA are Great People and Great American Patriots," Trump tweeted. "They love our Country and will do the right thing. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"  Those words of support came not long after the president defended his suggestion to arm teachers, notes CNN. He discussed the idea during the Wednesday "listening session" at the White House, which involved survivors of the Florida shooting, and parents who had lost their children in one of the nation's many armed attacks on schools.  Trump proposed providing 20% of teachers with weapons, noting, "This would be obviously only for people who were very adept at handling a gun." The suggestion was met with skepticism, and Trump responded to the criticism in a series of Thursday morning tweets.  "I never said 'give teachers guns' like was stated on Fake News @CNN & @NBC," he wrote, in part. After reiterating his statement regarding skill and training, Trump continued, "A 'gun free' school is a magnet for bad people…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."