Trump backs off from gun curbs blaming lack of political support

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 US 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.

The White House will also assist states in training teachers to use guns, support better background checks and ban “bump stock” devices that turn firearms into machine guns.

Mr Trump tweeted yesterday: “On 18 to 21 Age Limits, watching court cases and rulings before acting. States are making this decision. Things are moving rapidly on this, but not much political support (to put it mildly).” New gun controls have been fiercely debated in Washington after 17 people were killed in a high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last month.

Much of the focus has been on why the age limit for buying the gun used in the attack, an AR-15 rifle, is 18 but the limit for a handgun is 21. Nikolas Cruz, the suspected shooter, is 19. Mr Trump had initially supported the move, chastising members of congress for not backing the policy during a round-table meeting with figures from both parties.

♦ Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has been criticised for suggesting that minority groups including Jews could have been responsible for meddling in the US election. Asked in an interview about 13 Russians charged by the US special counsel’s office last month, Mr Putin said he “couldn’t care less”. “They do not represent the interests of the Russian state,” Mr Putin said. “Maybe they’re not even Russians, but Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship.”