Title : Trump tells gun owners: 'We will NEVER surrender – ever, ever, ever!'
link : Trump tells gun owners: 'We will NEVER surrender – ever, ever, ever!'
Trump tells gun owners: 'We will NEVER surrender – ever, ever, ever!'
- Trump speaks to NRA convention in Dallas and goes all-in for guns
- Says Americans will never give in to Democrats who want to pare down the Second Amendment
- Trump reiterate his desire to let trained and skilled teachers arm themselves on the job
- He also warned that unless Republicans can maintain control of Congress, Democrats will take away gun rights
- Trump blasted politicians who want 'to outlaw guns, like so many people want to do – Democrats! You better get out and vote!'
President Donald Trump on Friday brought thousands of gun-rights enthusiasts to their feet in Texas, pledging to defend the Second Amendment in the face of attacks from politicians to his left.
'Americans will never surrender – ever, ever, ever! We will never, ever surrender! We will never give up our freedom,' he said at the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Dallas.
'Americans are born free. We will live free and we will die free.'
The NRA endorsed Trump early in his campaign, and the president repaid the organization for its loyalty with his second appearance in two years.
Trump went out of his way Friday to link the sanctity of 'the right to keep and bear arms' – Americans' constitutional self-protection guarantee – with Republicans' hopes to maintain control of Congress after November's midterm elections.
He blasted politicians who want 'to outlaw guns, like so many people want to do – Democrats! You better get out and vote!'
President Donald Trump spoke at the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Dallas on Friday, warning NRA members that Democrats want to pare back their gun rights
Trump urged voters to send more Republicans to Congress, saying Democrats want 'to outlaw guns'
The NRA convention includes a giant exhibit hall where members can handle guns, but not buy them
'You know, they say we have a majority,' the president said, talking about the GOP's razor-thin edge in the U.S. Senate. 'We have, what, a majority of one person? That's not really a majority.'
'We need Republicans to do it right. To get the kind of things we want, we've got to get Republicans elected. We've got to do great in '18.
Trump struck a tough tone months after he briefly strayed from the NRA's message in the days after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. He vowed that the Second Amendment will 'never ever be under siege as long as I am your president.'
Yet he took time to express sorrow over the loss of life.
'Our entire nation was filled with shock and grief by the monstrous attack on a high school in Parkland, Florida,' the president said. 'We mourn for the victims and their families. I've gotten to know members of those families. There are incredible people.'
Trump said: 'Our hearts break for every American who has suffered the horrors of a school shooting.'
More than 80,000 people were expected to attend the NRA event, showing their support for the group that staunchly opposes new restrictions on semi-automatic weapons like the firearm used in the Florida bloodbath.
Trump stuck to his guns on the thorny issue of giving teachers the option of arming themselves on the job if they have sufficient aptitude and skill.
'We strongly believe in allowing highly trained teachers to carry concealed weapons, [if] they're highly trained,' he said.
'And by the way, these teachers ... they love their students and they are not going to let anybody hurt their students. But you have to give them a chance.'
Trump's speech in Dallas was his fourth consecutive appearance at the NRA's annual convention.
His gun comments were folded into a campaign-style speech, which touched on the Russia probe, the 2016 campaign, illegal immigration and his efforts in North Korea and Iran.
Trump on Friday reiterated his call for arming some educators, a position that has drawn scorn from teachers unions and liberal politicians, as well as a groundswell of high school students affected by mass shootings
Thousands of convention attendees applauded Trump as he said: 'We will never surrender – ever, ever, ever!'
Trump said Democrats want to 'outlaw guns' and said if the nation takes that step, it might as well ban all vans and trucks because they are the new weapons for 'maniac terrorists.'
The speech came as the issue of gun violence has taken on new urgency after one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Student survivors of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which left 17 people dead, are now leading a massive national gun control movement. They too are looking to the midterm elections for action.
Though Trump embraced the Second Amendment's near-absolute right to bear arms before Friday's speech, he had temporarily strayed from the strong anti-gun control message in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
While the shooting has not led to major changes from the White House or the Republican-led Congress, it did – at least briefly – prompt Trump to declare that he would stand up to the powerful gun lobby. He later backpedaled on that tough talk.
Trump referenced the Parkland shooting on Friday, saying he 'mourned for the victims and their families' and saying he has taken steps on school safety. He noted that he signed a recent spending bill that included modest provisions to strengthen the federal background check system for gun purchases and money to improve school safety.
Asked earlier this week why Trump was attending the convention, given the current political tensions around gun violence, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said safety was a 'big priority.' But, she added, 'We also support the Second Amendment, and strongly support it, and don't see there to be a problem with speaking at the National Rifle Association's meeting.'
NRA members stood for the Pledge of Allegiance during the Leadership Forum event where the president spoke on Friday
A page of notes – with some material crossed out in Trump's hand – is seen as the president acknowledged applause
Trump said some people had advised him that attending might be controversial, but added: 'You know what I said? 'Bye-bye, gotta get on the plane.''
Trump has long enjoyed strong backing from the NRA, which spent about $30 million in support of his presidential campaign. The NRA showcased its high-profile guests for the event, with NRA Executive Director Chris Cox saying on Twitter: 'We are honored to celebrate American Freedom with @realDonaldTrump, @VP Mike Pence and others. #2A #watchtheleftmeltdown'
But one of the Parkland student survivors, David Hogg, was critical of Trump's planned attendance.
'It's kind of hypocritical of him to go there after saying so many politicians bow to the NRA and are owned by them,' Hogg said. 'It proves that his heart and his wallet are in the same place.'
During a televised gun meeting with lawmakers in late February, Trump wagged his finger at a Republican senator and scolded him for being 'afraid of the NRA,' declaring that he would stand up to the group and finally get results in quelling gun violence.
He praised members of the gun lobby as 'great patriots' but declared 'that doesn't mean we have to agree on everything. It doesn't make sense that I have to wait until I'm 21 to get a handgun, but I can get this weapon at 18.' He was referring to the AR-15 the Parkland shooting suspect is accused of using.
Those words rattled some Republicans in Congress and sparked hope among gun-control advocates that, unlike after previous mass shootings, tougher regulations would be enacted this time. But Trump later retreated on those words, expressing support for modest changes to the background check system, as well as arming teachers.
After expressing interest in increasing the minimum age to purchase a so-called assault weapon to 21, Trump later declared there was 'not much political support' for the move. He then pushed off the issue of age restrictions by assigning the question to a commission.
Blaise Maliskey, age 11, tried out a rifle in an exhibit hall at the NRA's convention; the organization raffles off guns but doesn't permit sales at its annual event
National Rifle Association member and Donald Trump supporter Jim Whelan, center, talked with protester David Lyles, 60, right, outside the NRA convention
Trump's moves have drawn concerns from both sides of the gun debate.
'He ran as supposedly the best friend of the Second Amendment and has become gun grabber in chief,' said Michael Hammond, legislative counsel to the Gun Owners of America. Hammond said his members were upset Trump had approved a spending bill that included background check updates. 'We're not confident at all. We are very disappointed.'
Kristin Brown, of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said Trump had offered mixed messages since the Parkland shooting.
'Which Donald Trump is going to show up?' she asked. 'Will it be the one who sympathized with the Parkland students he brought to the White House, the one who met with members of the Senate ... or the one who had burgers' with NRA head Wayne LaPierre.
Several groups announced plans to protest over the weekend. The protesters will include parents of those killed in Parkland and in other shootings.
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