Trump praises Scalise as ‘brave’

by Jordan Fabian - 09/28/17 1:18 PM ET

President Trump on Thursday praised House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) as “brave” upon his return to Congress for the first time since being shot at a congressional baseball practice.

“He’s a special man. Brave,” Trump told an NBC reporter on the White House grounds.

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The president said he was “excited” about the return of the Louisiana lawmaker, whom he called “a great guy” and “a great friend of mine.”

Scalise made an emotional return to the U.S. Capitol earlier Thursday. The congressman was among four people shot in June at the practice.

He delivered a rousing speech to lawmakers inside a packed House chamber, saying he was touched by the outpouring of support from leaders around the world.

“What it says is, sure, they cared about my well-being. But more than that, they saw this as an attack on all of us. They saw this as an attack on the institution of the United States Congress and our government. And they really count on us to be successful,” Scalise said.

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