Thirteen-year-old Benje Choucroun, visiting the White House press room to report for the Time for Kids program, had a question for press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
"At my school, we recently had a lockdown drill," Choucroun says in a video of the exchange, as he reads from a piece of paper. "One thing that affects mine and other students' mental health is the worry about the fact that we or our friends could get shot at school. Specifically, can you tell me what the administration has done and will do to prevent these senseless tragedies?"
The normally unflappable Sanders, a mother of three, seems taken aback in the video.
"As a kid and certainly as a parent, there is nothing that can be more terrifying than a kid to go to school and not feel safe," she says, her voice quavering.
Help us deliver journalism that makes a difference in our community.
Our journalism takes a lot of time, effort, and hard work to produce. If you read and enjoy our journalism, please consider subscribing today.
Regaining her composure, Sanders continues, "This administration takes it seriously, and the school safety commission that the president convened is meeting this week again in an official meeting to discuss the best way forward and how we can do every single thing within our power to protect kids in our schools, and make them feel safe and their parents feel good about dropping them off."
Choucroun, a student at Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera, California, is in Washington, D.C., covering the White House sports and fitness day for Time for Kids, reported USA Today.
Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal praised Choucroun on Twitter for the exchange, calling it "a great question."
