In a fiery speech to a crowd at the annual convention of the National Rifle Association (NRA), former president and presumptive Republican candidate in the November elections, Donald Trump, affirmed that the right to bear firearms is in danger and asked his followers to go to the polls in November to protect him.
Trump, who held the presidency of the United States between 2017 and 2021, presented himself as the only candidate capable of preserving the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects gun ownership.
“The survival of our Second Amendment is undoubtedly at stake in the election. They want to destroy our country. The Second Amendment is under siege, but they won't get it with me. We need that Second Amendment, for our safety, for hunting, and for all those things. Because the bad guys are not going to give up their weapons,” Trump said. The Republican leader used his speech to enthuse some of his most loyal followers, whom he asked not to stay home and go to the polls in November.
“We have to get those who have guns to vote. I don't know why, but for some reason they don't usually vote. Maybe it's some form of rebellion because they are rebellious people. But, let's be rebels and vote this time," Trump asked them, who will be officially proclaimed as the Republican Party candidate at the convention of that political force in July.
During his speech, Trump harshly attacked the US president, Democrat Joe Biden, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent candidate who could take away votes from both.
The NRA, one of the most powerful pressure groups in the country, has supported Trump's candidacy, whom it already helped with $30 million during the 2016 elections. The arms lobby has praised many of the measures that Trump promoted during his presidency. Presidency, such as the appointment of three conservative justices to the Supreme Court or the designation of gun stores as essential businesses during the pandemic.
The NRA, one of the most powerful pressure groups in the country, has supported Trump's candidacy, whom it already helped with $30 million during the 2016 elections. The arms lobby has praised many of the measures that Trump promoted during his presidency. Presidency, such as the appointment of three conservative justices to the Supreme Court or the designation of gun stores as essential businesses during the pandemic.
In contrast, Biden managed to pass in Congress in 2022 with the support of Democrats and Republicans the most important gun control law in the last three decades and has promised that he will try to ban assault rifles if his party achieves a victory in the elections.
Before Trump gave his speech, US Vice President Kamala Harris issued a harsh statement against him, emphasizing the administration's efforts to end gun violence. Polls show that the majority of the American population supports greater gun control, with only 12% of Americans believing gun laws should be looser, according to an October 2023 Gallup poll.