Trump backs off from gun control
Blames lack of support as NRA pushes back
WASHINGTON • Donald Trump has blamed a lack of “political support” after he backed off raising the minimum age for buying a rifle amid opposition from the National Rifle Association.
The U.S. president initially called for the minimum age to be increased from 18 to 21 in the wake of the Florida school shooting, saying he was willing to defy the gun lobby over the issue.
However, the idea was left off a list of policy proposals announced by officials, with the change instead to be debated by a federal commission on gun safety.
In a televised meeting with lawmakers on Feb. 28, Trump praised members of the gun lobby as “great patriots” but declared “that doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything. It doesn’t make sense that I have to wait until I’m 21 to get a handgun, but I can get this weapon at 18.”
He then turned toward Sen. Pat Toomey, and questioned why previous gun control legislation did not include that provision. “You know why?” said Trump, answering his own question. “Because you’re afraid of the NRA, right? Ha ha.”
His words rattled some Republicans in Congress and sparked hope among some gun control advocates that, unlike after so many previous mass shootings, meaningful regulations would be enacted. But Trump appeared to foreshadow his change of heart with a tweet the very next night.
“Good (Great) meeting in the Oval Office tonight with the NRA!” the president wrote.
White House aides said Monday the president was focusing on achievable options, after facing significant opposition from lawmakers on a more comprehensive approach. Trump will back two modest pieces of legislation, and the administration pledged to help states pay for firearms training for teachers.
Seemingly on the defensive after his about-face, Trump tweeted Monday of the age limit that “States are making this decision. Things are moving rapidly on this, but not much political support (to put it mildly).”
Democrats and gun control advocates were quick to pounce, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., tweeting that Trump “couldn’t even summon the political courage to propose raising the age limit on firearm purchases — despite repeated promises to support such a step at a meeting with lawmakers.”
Television personality Geraldo Rivera — who had urged the president to consider tougher age limits during a dinner at Trump’s Florida club — tweeted that Trump had “blinked in face of ferocious opposition from #NRA.”