‘I am going to come through for you,’ Trump vows to NRA
Audience is full of voters who helped him win election.
On the eve of his 100th day in office, President Donald Trump made a triumphant return before members of the National Rifle Association, promising a group that was one of his earliest and most enthusiastic supporters that he will “never infringe on the right of the people to bear arms.”
Trump, the first sitting president to address the NRA since Ronald Reagan, delivered a fiery speech in which he recounted his election victory and early actions from his administration that are friendly to the gun rights group, and he promised there would be more to come.
“You came through big for me, and I am going to come through for you,” Trump told thousands of members attending the NRA’s annual convention. “The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end. You have a true friend and champion in the White House.”
With his appearance here, Trump marked the coming 100-day milestone in much the same way he has governed in the early stages of his presidency: by appealing to his base.
The NRA claims 5 million members, including many white rural voters, a demographic that helped tip the electoral college in Trump’s favor.
The association played a powerful role in Trump’s election, providing critical support in battleground states. It spent more on behalf of Trump than any other outside group and began its advertising and other efforts earlier than in any other presidential cycle.
In remarks before Trump spoke, NRA chief lobbyist Chris Cox recalled the group’s endorsement at its convention last year, saying Trump was “the most proudly Second Amendment nominee in American history.”
“On Election Day, NRA members and gun owners stormed to the polls in an act of sheer defiance of the elites,” Cox said. “And on Inauguration Day, our candidate became our president.”
Addressing the group, Trump hailed his first Supreme Court pick, Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was embraced by the NRA, as well as several of his Cabinet selections.
He called Jeff Sessions “a pro-Second Amendment, tough-on-crime attorney general” and touted a decision by his interior secretary, Ryan Zinke, to overturn a federal ban on hunting with lead ammunition in national parks and wildlife refuges.
While making general promises to stand with the NRA moving forward, Trump made no mention of two of the group’s leading priorities in Congress. In the months ahead, the NRA will be looking for Trump to put the weight of his office behind a bill that would make concealed-carry permits valid across state lines. Trump endorsed the concept during the campaign, likening it to the portability of driver’s licenses.
Also high on the NRA’s agenda is the Hearing Protection Act, which would remove federal registration and identification requirements for those seeking gun silencers. That measure has been touted by the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., an avid hunter, who also attended Friday’s conference.
Also left unmentioned was an NRA victory earlier in the Trump administration: His signing of legislation that repealed an Obama-era regulation designed to protect certain mentally ill people from purchasing firearms.
In addition to speaking about gun rights, the president laced his speech with familiar rhetoric and promises from the campaign trail. He warned of the dangers of “radical Islamic terrorists,” called for “putting American first” and pledged to continue a crackdown on illegal immigration.
Trump also played up his promise to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, an initiative recently dealt a setback.