NRA Endorses Donald Trump
The National Rifle Association endorsed Donald Trump for president at the organization’s convention in Louisville, Kentucky, Friday.
“Now is the time to unite,” Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA‘s Institute for Legislative Action, said. “If your preferred candidate dropped out of the race, it’s time to get over it.”
It was one way of saying that Donald Trump — who previously supported a ban on assault weapons, longer waiting periods for guns and expanded background checks — may not have always been the NRA’s preferred candidate. He tweeted in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting, “President Obama spoke for me and every American in his remarks in #Newtown Connecticut.”
Since he began campaigning for the Republican nomination, Trump has called himself “a big Second Amendment person,” spoken often about his own concealed carry permit, and called gun-free zones “target practice for sickos.”
In a speech delivered at the NRA convention Friday, Trump promised to abolish gun-free zones. He compared the judges he would theoretically appoint to the ones Hillary Clinton might, if she is elected president.
“It will not be good for the people in this room,” he said, referring to a Clinton presidency.
Trump repeated the false claim that Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment, and said any politician who campaigns for restrictions on guns should have their bodyguards stripped of their weapons. “Let their body guards immediately disarm. Let’s see how good they do, let’s see how they feel.”
He went on to say, “I’ve been watching what’s going on, I’ve been looking at airplanes being blown up in the air… [more guns will mean] we don’t have to be so frightened, we don’t have to be so afraid.”
Before delivering his speech, Trump thanked the NRA for its vote of confidence. He called the endorsement “a fantastic honor,” adding, “I will not let you down. Remember that, I will not let you down.”