Trump just said to give teachers guns while denying he wants to give teachers guns

Donald Trump floated the idea of arming teachers during a 'listening session' with parents and survivors of school shootings on Wednesday.

Talking about assistant football coach Aaron Feis, who shielded students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the shooting, Trump said:

If he had a firearm, he wouldn't have had to run.

The idea was met with fierce ridicule and condemnation. But the US President has now explained why we've all got the wrong end of the stick.

In his latest Twitter rant, he explained that he never said "give teachers guns", but give "concealed guns to adept teachers" – which, as Twitter pointed out, is also known as "give teachers guns".

People quickly pointed out the obvious.

Trump's fleshed out his explanation about why he didn't say "give teachers guns" by explaining why it would be a good idea to give teachers guns.

Many think giving teachers guns is a exceedingly dangerous idea.

Teacher Tara Bordeaux from Austin, Texas, would prefer to leave the job to trained law enforcement officers.

Would I get the same training and would I have the same type of instinct of when and how to use it?

I don't have any instincts in me to be an officer of the law. My instincts are to be a teacher."

The president of the 1.7 million-member American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, said arming teachers was

one of the worst ideas I have heard in a series of really, really, really bad ideas.

Others – including many Republicans – are fans of the idea.

Florida Republican Seanator Greg Steube said gun-free zones like schools are easy targets.

Our most valuable, most precious resources are our children.

Why in the world are we going to put them in a circumstance where there is nobody that is armed and trained at any of our schools to be able to respond quickly to an active shooter situation?

Additional reporting by Associated Press.

More: Donald and Melania Trump's most awkward video yet