He and Trump recalled the July 7, 2016, ambush on Dallas police officers, blocks away from the convention center, and the killing of another officer last week. He said the old way was you win the White House, but your party loses the midterm. “There is no sign that is more inviting” to a killer than a sign that says “this school is a gun-free zone”. “But you have to give them a chance”, Trump said.
Advertisement
He made a similar argument when he addressed the recent school shootings in the U.S. In the same period, there were more than 2,400 incidents of gun crime, a fall of 4.6 percent. 800 exhibitors have now put the finishing touches on their booths at the NRA’s annual convention, which officially opened Thursday evening. But Trump later retreated on those words, expressing support for modest changes to the background check system, as well as arming teachers. Fix NICS ended up glued onto a must-pass spending bill-rarely a recipe for sober policymaking-that Trump signed into law in March despite complaining that “nobody read it” and the final draft was “only hours old”. The NRA showcased its high-profile guests for the event, with NRA Executive Director Chris Cox saying on Twitter: “We are honored to celebrate American Freedom with @realDonaldTrump, @VP Mike Pence and others”.
Mr Trump told the cheering crowd: “Your Second Amendment rights are under siege”.
“Your Second Amendment rights are under siege, but they will never, ever be under siege as long as I’m your president”, Trump told the group, per CNN. “I think his morals and views are all in the right place and as far as gun rights, I think they are on the right track”.
He slammed countries like France and Britain, which have tough gun laws, claiming attacks and stabbings could have been prevented if only citizens were armed – at one point mimicking the assailants in the Paris Bataclan attack of November 2015 picking out their victims: “Boom!”
Giuliani issued a statement Friday almost as tortured as the Trump team’s Daniels story: “My references to timing were not describing my understanding of the president’s knowledge but instead my understanding of these matters”. “As a result, the threats to our kids and our communities remain unaddressed”. He also insisted that gun-rights voters must vote in the midterm elections and avoid complacency.
“We have to do the right thing”, he said.
The media doesn’t tell people about those numbers, Trump said, before touching on Russian Federation for the first and only time during his speech. “That’s all we hear about, isn’t it?”
“Before I left today a couple of people came up to me – good political people – and they said, ‘You know going to the NRA convention and speaking today that’ll be very controversial”.
Trump said the Republican majority needed to be expanded this year, probably to help push along his immigration agenda, which has stalled. “We have a lot of love going on”.
“We love Texas”, Trump said before rattling off a string of endorsements for Texas Republicans, including Sen.
“It means he’s got out back”, said a long time NRA member. He took the time to thank the NRA for electing a president and congress who is destined to “make America great again”.
Advertisement
Inside the mammoth convention hall next to the arena where Trump delivered his remarks, a group gathered around a screen showing his speech at the Springfield Armory display.
