Trump’s Rhetoric Over Tougher Background Checks Softens After Meeting With NRA And Gun Rights Advocates
In the immediate aftermath of dual mass shootings earlier in the month in Texas and Ohio, President Donald Trump spoke about moving forward on tougher background checks, a strategy that conservatives have shied away from in the past. Now, after talks with gun rights advocates, Trump appears to be reverting back to his previous talking points, saying that he is “very, very concerned with the Second Amendment, more so than most presidents would be,” and adding that “people don’t realize we have very strong background checks right now.”
The New York Times:
After Lobbying By Gun Rights Advocates, Trump Sounds A Familiar Retreat
Days after a pair of deadly mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, President Trump said he was prepared to endorse what he described as “very meaningful background checks” that would be possible because of his “greater influence now over the Senate and over the House.” But after discussions with gun rights advocates during his two-week working vacation in Bedminster, N.J. — including talks with Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the National Rifle Association — Mr. Trump’s resolve appears to have substantially softened, and he has reverted to reiterating the conservative positions on the gun issue he has espoused since the 2016 campaign. (Karni and Haberman, 8/19)
The Washington Post:
Trump Again Appears To Back Away From Gun Background Checks
Immediately after the carnage in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, Trump said “there is a great appetite” for tightening background checks on people who buy firearms. But in recent days, Trump has focused in public remarks on the need to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill while emphasizing that the nation already has “very strong background checks right now” — positions that hew more closely to the views of the National Rifle Association. Behind the scenes, Trump’s communication with key lawmakers, including Sen. Joe Manchin III, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia who has sought to develop bipartisan gun-control measures, has gone mostly cold, according to Capitol Hill aides, in part because Congress has left town for its summer recess. (Dawsey and Nakamura, 8/19)
The Hill:
Pelosi, Schumer Press For Gun Screenings As Trump Inches Away
Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill pressed President Trump on Monday to support tougher gun laws, a move that comes as the president attempts to shift the focus of gun-violence prevention from firearms to mental illness. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) contend that the most effective prescription for reining in shooting deaths is to expand background checks prior to the sale of firearms. A pair of House-passed measures, they argued, would do just that. (Lillis, 8/19)
