Thread: Trump Is Warmly Welcomed by a Friendly Crowd at N.R.A. Convention

Trump Is Warmly Welcomed by a Friendly Crowd at N.R.A. Convention

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
APRIL 28, 2017

ATLANTA — President Trump received a thunderous welcome from thousands of gun lovers as he appeared here Friday at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention to thank the group for its unwavering support of his presidential campaign.

A supporter of restrictions on guns before he entered politics, Mr. Trump became a fierce champion of gun rights during his long-shot bid for the White House, earning early backing — and $30 million in campaign support — from the powerful lobbying group.

And so, just shy of Saturday’s 100-day milestone in his presidency, Mr. Trump came to say “thank you,” and was received as a hero after successfully installing a conservative Supreme Court justice, Neil Gorsuch, seen as a likely protector of the Second Amendment.

“Only one candidate in the general election came to speak to you, and that candidate is now the president of the United States, standing before you,” Mr. Trump said. “You came through for me, and I am going to come through for you.”

Before the president’s arrival, conventioneers watched hours of videos mocking former President Barack Obama, Democrats and anyone who has advocated gun control measures. The crowd erupted in boos when the large screens showed campaign commercials from last year attacking Hillary Clinton, the losing Democratic nominee.

They also laughed as television clips showed members of the news media, Hollywood stars and even Mr. Obama predicting confidently that Mr. Trump would never be elected president.

Mr. Trump stepped in front of the friendly audience amid a flurry of activity back in Washington. In just the past few days, his administration has released a tax plan and made and then rescinded a threat to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement while Republican lawmakers reignited their effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act and Congress passed a short-term spending bill needed to keep the government running.

Mr. Trump has also already made some modest moves in support of gun rights. He signed legislation that reversed an Obama-era rule that would have required the Social Security Administration to provide information about mentally ill people for background checks on gun purchases.

Gun control organizations accuse Mr. Trump of supporting what they call the “extremist” agenda of the N.R.A. In a statement on Thursday, two of those groups — Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action — vowed to oppose efforts by the gun group to “allow more guns for anyone, anywhere, no questions asked.”

Those gun control groups are planning a rally for Saturday in Atlanta to demonstrate their willingness to “stand and fight back against the N.R.A. leadership’s dangerous ‘guns everywhere’ agenda that contributes to the more than 90 Americans shot and killed and the hundreds more injured every day.”

Mr. Trump will be the keynote speaker at the N.R.A. convention, which will also feature Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke; Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas; and David A. Clarke, the Milwaukee sheriff and a prominent Trump supporter.

After the event, Mr. Trump is expected to attend a fund-raiser for Karen Handel, the Republican House candidate in Georgia who will compete in a runoff in June to replace Tom Price, who left his seat to become health and human services secretary in Mr. Trump’s administration.

For Ms. Handel, who has been a poor fund-raiser, Mr. Trump’s help is a boost as she competes against Jon Ossoff, a Democrat who is receiving enormous financial support from around the country.

Ms. Handel also needs to energize Republicans to support her in a primary that is likely to have low turnout. Her willingness to be part of a high-profile fund-raiser involving Mr. Trump suggests that she believes rallying his supporters is her best bet to defeat Mr. Ossoff.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/u...trump-nra.html

No Guns Allowed at Trump's NRA Speech