Former President Donald Trump, the leading Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential race, declared on Friday Feb 9 that he had staunchly defended gun rights during his tenure in the White House. He pledged that if re-elected, he would overturn all restrictions implemented by President Joe Biden.
Addressing thousands of supporters at an event hosted by the National Rifle Association (NRA), Trump vowed to revoke regulations imposed by the Biden administration, including a rule limiting the sale of gun accessories known as pistol braces.
“Every single Biden attack on gun owners and manufacturers will be terminated my very first week back in office, perhaps my first day,” Trump asserted during his speech at the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.
The NRA provided enthusiastic support to Trump during the 2016 election and throughout his presidency, applauding his appointments to the Supreme Court and his efforts to address their concerns, such as designating firearm shops as essential businesses during the pandemic.
Trump, recognising the importance of conservative gun owners, actively courted their support and boasted about his resistance to implementing gun restrictions, portraying it as a victory for gun rights during his time in office.
Republicans, backed by the NRA and other gun rights organizations, consistently resist stricter gun laws, citing the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. This position remains steadfast despite ongoing mass shootings and the United States having the highest rate of gun deaths among developed nations.
During his eighth address in front of an NRA crowd on Friday, Trump urged his supporters to “swamp” the polls in November, acknowledging the importance of winning the battleground state he lost in 2020 if he intends to reclaim the presidency.
Ahead of Trump’s speech, the Democratic National Committee erected a billboard in Harrisburg referencing comments Trump made after a school shooting in Iowa in January. In those remarks, Trump offered condolences before urging his supporters to “get over it” and “move forward.”
Donald Trump to victims of gun violence: ‘get over it’,” the billboard reads.
During a call with reporters on Friday, the Biden campaign addressed Trump’s relationship with the NRA. Maxwell Frost, a 27-year-old Florida congressman, emphasised his commitment to enacting stronger gun laws to prevent school shootings.
Frost criticised Republican politicians like Trump, accusing them of being influenced by NRA donations and failing to take action to prevent senseless deaths of children.
Trump’s speech followed his recent victories in the Republican presidential nominating caucuses in Nevada and the US Virgin Islands, bringing him closer to securing the nomination and setting the stage for a potential rematch with Biden in the general election.
During his speech, Trump once again raised concerns about Biden’s mental acuity, referencing a Department of Justice special counsel report that highlighted memory lapses in Biden, who is 81 years old.
Despite the report’s conclusion that Biden should not face charges in a probe into his handling of classified documents, Trump continued to question Biden’s cognitive abilities.