Former US President Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race, said on Friday that if re-elected he would reverse all the gun restrictions enacted by President Joe Biden.
Speaking to thousands of supporters at an event organized by the National Rifle Association (NRA), Trump vowed to rescind a rule restricting sales of gun accessories known as pistol braces and other restrictions put in place by the Biden administration.
“Every single Biden attack on gun owners and manufacturers will be terminated my very first week back in office, perhaps my first day,” Trump said in a speech to thousands of supporters at the Great American Outdoor show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The NRA enthusiastically backed Trump during the 2016 race and throughout his administration, cheering him on as he appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court and adopted a series of steps sought by the influential gun lobby. These included designating firearm shops as essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to stay open.
Seeing conservative gun owners as critical to his re-election chances, Trump has continued to court them aggressively. He told the crowd on Friday that if he is re-elected “no one will lay a finger on your firearms” and boasted about how he resisted pressure to implement gun restrictions during his term in the White House from 2017 to 2021.
“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 said.
