Shooting blanks

President Trump came out guns blazing at a televised meeting with lawmakers last month, calling for aggressive confiscation of firearms from the potentially unstable, advocating more restrictions on rifle purchases, and accusing a senator of cowering before the National Rifle Association.

Eleven days and one meeting with the NRA later, Trump had his hands in the air.

The president once again debunked his own bluster with the White House’s newly unveiled response to the Florida school shooting, which constitutes an unconditional surrender to the gun lobby. The plan drops Trump’s calls to raise the minimum age to buy a long gun from 18 to 21 and to close gaping loopholes in the background-check system. Instead, the White House promises funds to provide weapons training for teachers, accepting the NRA’s absurd argument that the answer to America’s gun problem is more guns.

Trump punts other questions to the states and that favorite redoubt of do-nothing politicians, a commission. At a rally the day before, in fact, he himself deplored the useless “talk, talk, talk” of “blue-ribbon committees.”

It was less than two weeks ago that Trump publicly flirted with Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s proposed assault weapons ban and dismissed not just the Second but also the Fifth Amendment in his purported zeal to seize firearms from those deemed dangerous, saying, “Take the guns first, go through due process second.” After confirming that a bipartisan bill to expand background checks does not address age requirements, Trump told one of its sponsors, Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, “You’re afraid of the NRA.”

As it happens, it’s Toomey who was bold enough to champion legislation to stem violence in the face of NRA opposition. Trump — who ultimately failed to back either stricter age limits or Toomey’s bill — showed no such courage.