Since last weekend’s mass killings, President Trump has indicated on several occasions he is leaning toward requiring detailed background checks for gun purchasers.
The National Rifle Association doesn’t like the idea, and told him so, warning that such a move would not sit well with Trump’s political base.
The president told reporters at the White House Wednesday that in light of the most recent massacres in El Paso TX and Dayton OH, he felt there is “great appetite for background checks” around the country. He even discussed with aides holding a formal bill-signing ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.
A bipartisan bill in the Senate, sponsored by Sens. Patrick Toomey (R-PA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), would impose such checks on nearly all gun sales nationwide. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said he won’t bring it up for a vote unless it gets widespread Republican support.
“NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre spoke with Trump on Tuesday … and told him it would not be popular among Trump’s supporters,” according to officials who spoke to the Washington Post on condition they not be named. “LaPierre also argued against the bill’s merits, the officials said.”
But some prominent Republicans worry about the political implications if the party as seen as being under the heel of the gun-rights group.
“Republicans are headed for extinction in the suburbs if they don’t distance themselves from the NRA. The GOP needs to put forth solutions to help eradicate the gun violence epidemic,” said Dan Eberhart, a major donor to the party.
