President: ‘Working’ on ‘things’ for guns

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he is working with Republican and Democratic lawmakers to enhance background checks for gun purchases, denying reports that he had abandoned the idea after meeting with the National Rifle Association.

“We’re working on background checks. There are things we can do,” Trump said Wednesday as he left the White House for an event in Kentucky.

The president said he had a “great” talk with NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre on Tuesday, and denied reports that he had pledged not to pursue more stringent background checks.

The debate over gun control has heated up again this month after a pair of shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that killed more than 30 people.

Trump has blamed the mass shootings in part on mental illness, while also saying he believes video games are a factor.

The president on Wednesday said he considers gun violence a public-health issue and is considering ways to make background checks more strict.

While Trump said he backed tighter background checks for gun purchases, he said wants to be careful that closing what he calls “loopholes” doesn’t clear the way for more gun control.

“You’re on that slope and all of a sudden nobody has any legal protection,” he said. “Our Second Amendment will remain strong.”

When a reporter said the “slippery slope” argument is a NRA talking point, Trump said, “It’s a Trump talking point.”

In the days after the recent mass shootings, Trump said he was eager to implement “very meaningful background checks” and told reporters there was “tremendous support” for action. He dismissed the “slippery slope” thinking, which he attributed to the NRA, saying, “I don’t agree with that.”

But he also has acknowledged that his core supporters back gun rights, highlighting the challenge of balancing the politics of gun control ahead of the 2020 elections.

On Tuesday, Trump noted that “a lot of the people that put me where I am are strong believers in the Second Amendment,” and he suggested he worries about blurring the contrast between Republicans and Democrats on the issue.

“We have to be very careful about that,” he said.

He also said Tuesday that while the current system has “sort of missing areas and areas that don’t complete the whole circle,” it is overall “very, very strong.”