WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is insisting the U.S. already has "very, very strong background checks" for gun purchases and is noting many of his supporters "are strong believers in the Second Amendment," in another sign he is backing away from supporting expanded checks.

Trump had said in the wake of shooting massacres in Texas and Ohio that he was looking to implement "very meaningful background checks" and that he and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell very much wanted to "do something."

But Trump said Tuesday that while the current system has "sort of missing areas and areas that don't complete the whole circle," the system is overall "very, very strong."

He says he worries about the potential for a "slippery slope" where "all of a sudden everything gets taken away."