Donald Trump warned gun enthusiasts that a Joe Biden victory in November would bring more restrictions on guns and promised to roll back new regulations if he were elected president.
He used a speech to the National Rifle Association on Saturday to stoke enthusiasm among a key part of his base, pledging to get to work protecting Second Amendment rights at noon on Inauguration Day.
That would start with firing Steve Dettelbach, head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, he said.
“The bad guys are not giving up their guns,” Trump said.
“They will be so happy if the Biden regime gets four more years. They’re coming for your guns… 100 percent.”
Former President Donald Trump addressed thousands of members of the National Rifle Association at their annual convention in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday evening
The NRA threw its full weight behind Trump during the 2016 campaign. During his time in office, the gun lobby welcomed the way he elevated three conservative justices to the Supreme Court.
But since then, the group has seen membership and revenue decline. Wayne LaPierre resigned as CEO just before a Manhattan jury found him and two other executives liable for misspending millions of dollars.
The NRA tried to declare bankruptcy three years ago, but the petition was denied by a judge who ruled it was not filed in good faith.
Yet the annual convention is still an important opportunity to rally the Second Amendment enthusiasts he needs to defeat President Joe Biden in November.
He offered his supporters his usual bag of policy news, impersonations of world leaders and personal grievances.
He vowed to close the border and spent time railing against the judge who handled his hush money case in New York and a gag order that prevents him from attacking witnesses.
But he also offered red meat to the gun owners in front of him.
“On Inauguration Day at noon we will fire anti-gun zealot Steve Dettelbach,” he said, using a British word for “fire.” ‘Have you heard of him?
“He’s a disaster… and replace him with an ATF director who respects the sacred right to keep and bear arms.”
Thousands of NRA members were in Dallas for the annual convention
The NRA enthusiastically supported Trump in 2016 and 2020. Trump urged gun owners to make sure they vote in November
Before taking the post in 2022, Dettelbach had called for a ban on “assault-style” firearms, and he remains a suspect figure for Republicans.
Trump used his speech to remind his audience of the importance of voting.
“I don’t know what it is,” he said. “Maybe it’s a form of rebellion because you’re rebellious people, right? But gun owners don’t vote.
“What’s that all about?”
It was all part of Trump’s “too big to rig” argument. HHe explained the importance of getting every vote possible and said that’s why he would address the Libertarian national convention next week.
Danny Batsalkin holds a rifle during the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting in Dallas, Texas, USA, May 18, 2024
The NRA has seen membership and revenue decline over the past decade, but the gun rights lobby is a key constituency for Trump if he wants to defeat Biden in November
“They get their three percent every year, no matter who participates,” he said. “And we have to achieve that three percent, because we cannot take a risk that Joe Biden wins.”
“He is by far the worst president in the history of our country.
Vice President Kamala Harris said the choice was clear for voters concerned about gun violence.
“It’s clear that Donald Trump meant it when he said that Americans fed up with horrific gun violence should just ‘get over it.’ During his time in office, Donald Trump opposed common-sense gun safety measures and oversaw a rise in homicides,” she said ahead of the former president’s appearance in Dallas.
“Now, at a time when guns are the number one killer of children and teens in America, Donald Trump is taking aim at the gun lobby and threatening to make the crisis worse if he is re-elected.”