Donald Trump warned gun enthusiasts that a Joe Biden victory in November would bring more restrictions on firearms and promised to roll back the new rules if he were elected president.
He used a speech to the National Rifle Association on Saturday to drum up enthusiasm among a key part of his base and promised to get to work protecting Second Amendment rights at noon on Inauguration Day.
That would begin with the firing of Steve Dettelbach, head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, he said.
“The bad guys are not giving up their weapons,” Trump said.
‘They will be very happy if the Biden regime gets four more years. They’re coming for your guns… 100 percent.’
Former President Donald Trump addressed thousands of members of the National Rifle Association at its annual convention in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday night.
The NRA threw its weight behind Trump during the 2016 campaign. During his tenure, the gun lobby welcomed the way he elevated three conservative justices to the Supreme Court.
But since then the group has seen its members and income decline. Wayne LaPierre resigned as CEO just before a Manhattan jury found him and two other executives responsible for wasting millions of dollars.
The NRA attempted to file for bankruptcy three years ago, but the petition was dismissed by a judge who ruled it was not done in good faith.
Still, its annual convention remains an important opportunity to rally the Second Amendment enthusiasts he needs to defeat President Joe Biden in November.
He offered his supporters his usual trove of political headlines, impersonations of world leaders and personal grievances.
He vowed to close the border and spent time ranting against the judge hearing his hush money case in New York and a gag order preventing him from attacking witnesses.
But he also offered red meat to the gun owners in front of him.
“At noon on Inauguration Day, we will fire anti-gun fanatic Steve Dettelbach,” he said, using a British word for “fire.” ‘Have you heard of him?
“He’s a disaster…and replace him with an ATF director who respects the sacred right to keep and bear arms.”
Thousands of NRA members in Dallas for annual convention
The NRA enthusiastically endorsed Trump in 2016 and 2020. Trump called on gun owners to make sure they vote in November.
Before taking office in 2022, Dettelbach had called for an “assault-style” firearms ban, and remains a suspect figure for Republicans.
Trump used his speech to remind his audience of the importance of voting.
“I don’t know what it is,” he said. ‘Maybe it’s a form of rebellion because you are rebellious people, right? But gun owners don’t vote.
‘What’s all that?’
It was all part of Trump’s argument that he was “too big to handle.” hHe outlined the importance of getting as many votes as possible and said that was why he should address the libertarian national convention next week.
Danny Batsalkin holds a rifle during the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Dallas, Texas, USA, May 18, 2024.
The NRA has seen its membership and revenue decline over the past decade, but the gun rights lobby is an important constituency for Trump if he wants to beat Biden in November.
“They get their three percent every year no matter who shows up,” he said. “And we have to get that three percent because we can’t risk Joe Biden winning.”
He is, by far, the worst president in the history of our country.
Vice President Kamala Harris said the choice facing voters concerned about gun violence was clear.
‘It’s clear that Donald Trump was serious when he said Americans fed up with horrific gun violence should just “get over it.” “During his time in office, Donald Trump opposed common-sense gun safety measures and oversaw a rise in homicides,” he said before the former president’s appearance in Dallas.
“Now, at a time when guns are the leading cause of death among children and teenagers in the United States, Donald Trump is catering to the gun lobby and threatening to worsen the crisis if he is re-elected.”