CROSSBAR CHALLENGE!!!!!
The Second Amendment is on the ballot in November, Trump told the more than 7,000 NRA members gathered here for an annual meeting. I will never let you down. I will protect our Second Amendment. I will protect our country.
"If your preferred candidate dropped out of the race, its time to get over it," NRA leader says.
Updated 05/20/16 04:47 PM EDT
LOUISVILLE, Ky. Despite his past support for gun control, Donald Trump scored the powerful endorsement of the National Rifle Association on Friday and turned immediately to launch a new attack line on his Democratic opponent.
Dubbing her "Heartless Hillary" Clinton, Trump and the NRAs leaders cast the 2016 election in stark terms as a referendum on the likely Democratic nominee that carries long-lasting implications for gun enthusiasts nationwide.
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The Second Amendment is on the ballot in November, Trump told the more than 7,000 NRA members who paid to attend his speech, roughly 10 percent of the 70,000 activists in town for the groups annual meeting. I will never let you down. I will protect our Second Amendment. I will protect our country.
Showcasing his knack for nicknames and speaking in his characteristic vernacular, Trump drew hearty applause and two standing ovations during a speech that focused as much on a broad commitment to restoring the countrys strength as it did on guns and self-defense.
Trump emphasized his commitment to secure the border, a strong military and tougher crime laws. The 30-minute speech amounted to Trumps hardest hitting and most extensive broadsides against Clinton since he secured the GOP nomination earlier this month, portraying his likely general election opponent as weak in all the areas where he is strong.
Hillary Clinton will release violent criminals from jail and put innocent Americans at risk, Trump said. Im going to put criminals behind bars and guarantee that law-abiding Americans have the right to self-defense.
Speaking in broad terms about safety, Trump referenced Wednesday evenings disappearance of an Egyptian airliner and the advent of the terrorist group known as ISIS or ISIL.
Ive been looking at airplanes getting blown up in the air, its just not the same, Trump mused. Were going to bring it back to a real place where we dont have to be afraid.
Paris, Trump continued, is probably the toughest place in the world to have a gun, as he attributed last years ISIL-coordinated terror attack there to the countrys strict gun control laws. If you would have had guns on the other side, Trump said, there wouldnt have been 130 people killed.
Beginning to read his prepared remarks from a teleprompter, Trump accused Clinton of having bad judgment and criticized her for saying the Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment.
But he glossed over his own past support for gun control laws. So, too, did the NRAs leaders, who set the stage for the presumptive GOP nominee by casting the 2016 election as a referendum on Clinton, whose election would lead to a dark future in which gun owners find their names on a national registration list and witness the gradual erosion of their Second Amendment rights.
If she gets just one Supreme Court nomination, you can kiss your guns goodbye, said CEO Wayne LaPierre, who promised NRA members would impact the election and make our country great again.
Chris c*x, the NRAs executive director, also urged the groups members Friday to back Trump, despite his past transgressions on gun issues, in order to prevent a Clinton presidency.
If we dont show up at the polls in force this November, we will witness the end...the end of individual freedom in this country, c*x said. Thats not hyperbole. Its the truth. But first, weve got to get together. It"s time to unite. If your preferred candidate dropped out of the race, its time to get over it.
The focus on demonizing Clinton, not just by LaPierre and c*x but by Trump himself, gave a sense that NRA members and perhaps conservatives more broadly are likely to be motivated this fall by their antipathy toward her, which in many cases is stronger than their positive feelings about Trump.
On the issue of guns, Trump is continuing to rely on his two sons to allay any existing anxieties about his absolute commitment to the NRAs agenda. He began his remarks Friday by noting how much they know about guns and how many guns they own. Next week, Donald Trump, Jr., is scheduled to appear with c*x at an NRA roundtable discussion in Washington with members of Congress to discuss issues affecting sportsmen.
When Trump addressed this same group last year, roughly a month before launching his campaign, he spoke for about eight minutesincluding bringing his sons and a daughter-in-law on stage and explaining, they know more about rifles, they know more about shooting. Beyond a few declarations of I love the Second Amendment, he focused on the tremendously horrible, inconceivable Iran deal and jobs moving to China and Mexico.
Trump didnt always love the NRA. In his 2000 book The America We Deserve, he knocked Republicans who walk the NRA line and refuse even limited restrictions, and said that while he generally opposes gun control, there should be a ban on assault weapons and a longer waiting period.
Following the Newtown school shooting in December 2013, Trump tweeted that President Obamas speech, in which he called for action on gun control, spoke for me and every American.
That was all gone by last summer. Trump told NBC in July that any steps to make buying guns harder starts on the slippery slope, where all of a sudden you are going to violate the Second Amendment. He released his full gun policy platform in September, he rejected any new bans on categories of guns and scoffed at further expanding background checks. Instead, he called for harsher punishments for people who commit violent crimes and fixing the mental health system. Trump also called for expanding gun rights, including making concealed carry permits valid nationwide and allowing guns on military bases and recruiting centers.
Were getting rid of gun-free zones, Trump said again Friday.
Clinton took aim at Trumps toughening position on guns in a tweet last week, pointing to his January declaration in Vermont that he will get rid of gun free zones on school campuses and military bases, promising immediate action.
"My first day, it gets signed, okay? he said. My first day. There"s no more gun-free zones."
As eager as Democrats are to draw a contrast between Clinton and Trump, who they believe is cynically playing on peoples fears, they couldnt resist pointing out the Republicans reversals.
We all know that Donald Trump in the past has been open to some reasonable measures, said Tom Mauser, whose son died in the 1999 Columbine shooting, during a conference call Friday organized by gun control advocates. This is one place where he cannot stray. He has to worship at the altar of the NRA on these issues.
Trumps speech was an effort to reassure gun owners that, whatever their concerns about his past trespasses on their signature issue, that he will be a far better advocate for them and do more to ensure the countrys safety and security than the likely Democratic nominee.
The Second Amendment is important but its not the only issue, said Jim Renner, an NRA member from Eaton, Ohio. I think most people realize its either Trump or whoever wins the Democratic primary, and that thats not really an option.
Many of the activists here who support Trump are more enthusiastic about the opportunity to send a message by electing a political outsider than they are motivated by his position on the Second Amendment or any other singular issue.
Im so sick of the same old, same old in Washington, people who are all in bed with each other and not doing anything for the people of this country, said Katherine Bricking, 53, a nurse from Louisville and a registered Democrat. My whole family are registered Democrats, including my mother who voted for Obama. And this time were all voting for Trump.
But those activists for whom the Second Amendment remains an essential litmus test are skeptical about Trump"s recent conversion to the conservative orthodoxy on guns.
If it were Ted Cruz talking passionately about the Second Amendment, I would be up on my feet because I believe him, said Laura Carno, an NRA member and conservative activist from Colorado Springs who was instrumental in mounting a successful 2013 recall election against Democratic state lawmakers who passed tougher gun control measures.
Im just not sure I believe Trump given all of his flip-flops on this issue. I look forward to him trying to earn my vote, but its an uphill climb. If the election were today, I would probably be bubbling in the circle for Gary Johnson.
Sarah Wheaton contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/donald-trump-nra-guns-223426
