It was a long-awaited intervention.
Former President Donald Trump called on Friday to "arm citizens" to fight "evil in our society", at the origin according to him of the appalling massacre in an elementary school in Texas.
The Republican billionaire was speaking to the first American arms lobby, which coincidentally held its annual convention a few hundred miles from the Texas town where the shooting took place that claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers.
“The existence of evil in our society is no reason to disarm law-abiding citizens,” the former president said.
"The existence of evil is the reason for arming law-abiding citizens," he said.
Donald Trump has accused his successor Joe Biden and the Democratic Party of politically exploiting "the tears of bereaved families" by trying to pass gun laws.
To calls to limit the number of firearms, the conservatives oppose the argument of better treating mental health problems in the United States, a point on which Donald Trump particularly insisted on Friday.
The shooter was a “moan out of control” thus estimated the former tenant of the White House.
“He will burn in hell,” he promised.
Install “sturdy fences” around schools
The former real estate magnate also called for increased security in American schools, suggesting installing "robust fences" and metal detectors in front of establishments and arming teachers.
A few minutes earlier, during the same National Rifle Association (NRA) convention, Texas Senator Ted Cruz had ruled that confiscating or banning guns in the United States would lead to an increase in crime.
"Many more single mothers would be assaulted, raped or murdered on the subway," he said.