TL/DR –
During a recent National Rifle Association presidential forum, former President Donald Trump stated that his administration did not impose any gun regulations during his term, despite an increase in gun violence. Trump’s tenure saw a spike in gun-related murders and suicides, and gun deaths among children and teenagers also increased. Despite promising to end violent crime during his 2016 campaign, Trump rolled back gun regulations, made it easier to buy weapons, and abandoned promises to implement background checks due to opposition from the NRA.
Trump’s Stance on Gun Regulation at NRA Presidential Forum
At the National Rifle Association presidential forum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 9, former President Donald Trump proudly claimed that he took no action to regulate guns during his term despite a rise in gun violence across the U.S.
Trump explained to the audience, “During my four years, nothing happened! And there was great pressure on me having to do with guns. We did nothing. We didn’t yield.” Trump received more than $30 million in financial support from the NRA during his 2016 campaign.
From the time Trump took office in 2017 to his departure in 2021, gun-related murder rates and gun suicides in the U.S. rose to the highest levels since the 1970s, including a significant increase following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as per a Pew Research Center analysis. Also, the rates of gun deaths among children and teenagers under 18 rose by 50% between 2019 and 2021.
During his presidency, Trump eased gun regulations, narrowing the definition of a “fugitive from justice” and removing hundreds of thousands of records from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, according to a report by the Democracy Forward group. Despite his opposition to gun restrictions, Trump did promise to curb violent crime, which in fact increased during his term.
After the Parkland, Florida school shooting in 2018, Trump initially promised stringent background checks, only to retract in the face of NRA opposition. He made similar promises following the mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, later that year but called off his plans after a meeting with then-NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre.
Despite the ongoing gun violence issues, Trump continued his stance after a fatal school shooting near Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 4, 2024, stating: “It’s just horrible – so surprising to see it here. But we have to get over it. We have to move forward.”
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