Obama: Hardest Day of Presidency Was Newtown Shooting

NEWTOWN, CT — President Barack Obama said visiting Newtown after the Sandy Hook school shooting was the hardest day of his presidency.

Obama has been reflecting on his eight-year tenure in a series of exit interviews.

" I still consider the day I traveled up to Newtown to meet with parents as the toughest day of my presidency," he said during a History Channel interview.

The Dec. 14, 2012 shooting left 20 children and six educators dead. The shooter killed his mother before the massacre and committed suicide before police arrived.

He talked about Newtown in a History Channel interview that will air Jan. 15. He recalled it was the only time he saw Secret Service agents cry at an event.

"They had their entire lives ahead of them, birthdays, graduations weddings kids of their own, among the fallen were also teachers men and women who devoted our lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams," he said at a press conference shortly after the shooting. "So our hearts are broken today."

Obama visited Newtown Dec. 16 for an interfaith vigil that attracted thousands of people.

"And you must know that whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide; whatever portion of sadness that we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it. Newtown — you are not alone," he said during the vigil, according to an NPR transcript.

Since then Obama has pushed for stricter gun control laws.

“Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad,” Obama said at a January 2016 press conference where he introduced a number of executive actions in an attempt to reduce gun violence.

Image via White House live stream