Trump’s Anti-Second Amendment Rhetoric May Be Signal of Deeper Issues

President Donald Trump said some unfortunate things after the shooting of Alex Pretti. When I say “unfortunate,” though, let me be clear. His comments regarding whether Pretti had a right to be armed that day run counter to what I believe when it comes to gun rights. I vehemently disagree with him on it.

But, if the 2024 election–to say nothing of the two before then–I’m not sure my vote would be much different. After all, while he made that comment, and it was just the latest example of less-than-stellar Second Amendment credentials, he was still the clearly better option than Hillary, Joe, or Kamala.

But an op-ed at USA Today makes the point that this is a sign that there are more concerns about Trump than just some unfortunate comments.

I’ve detailed previously why Trump is an unreliable friend to the pro-life movement, and much of the same can be said about his positions on guns.

“I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I also support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun,” Trump wrote in his 2000 book, “The America We Deserve.” 

He has since flipped around on the issue, but has routinely become squeamish about any Second Amendment support after mass shootings. In 2018, a gunman known to law enforcement as troubled was accused in the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and lawmakers were considering “red flag” laws, allowing family members or law enforcement to seek a court order to temporarily restrict people’s access to firearms.

“Take the guns first, go through due process second,” Trump said.

He then ‒ amid pressure after a gunman used bump stocks on some of his many weapons and killed 58 people at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas in 2017 ‒ banned bump stocks through executive action, but that ban was overturned as unconstitutional. 

Fast-forward to his second administration, and Trump’s cold feet on guns have only gotten worse. After Alex Pretti was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis while being disarmed of a gun he was legally carrying, the president once again turned against gun rights. 

…

Trump has taken up the mantle of abortion, guns and other conservative policies in the past, so long as they have helped him. The moment it becomes uncomfortable, he is sure to abandon those positions and the people who entrusted him. 

The author, Dace Potas, believes that Trump’s actions in Minneapolis are “reckless,” and that’s why Pretti was killed, rather than anything else. Fascinating. For someone who claims to be a conservative, most of his recent columns have been little more than Trump-bashing. Odd, isn’t it?

Regardless, there is a point about Trump. He’s never actually been the stalwart conservative espousing the right’s universal values with the fervor of a true believer.

Instead, Trump is something of a Rorschach Test for people’s politics. What they see isn’t necessarily a reflection of either his deeds or words, so much as a reflection of what they want to see. To the left, he’s every evil incarnate and wants to carry out every vile act they’ve ever imagined someone might carry out. Sure, it’ll be different if they do it, but Trump’s not one of them, so it won’t count.

Meanwhile, the right tends to see Trump as exactly like them on all of their values when, frankly, he’s not. He supported gay marriage well before Obama did. He’s not as pro-life as many conservatives. And yes, he’s far more open to gun control than other Republicans tend to be.

Was he still the best choice in those last three presidential elections? Absolutely. That’s not even a matter of debate, at least from a gun rights perspective if nothing else.

But those comments I called “unfortunate” are there as a reminder that he’s far too willing to look at guns as the problem when it’s convenient. That’s something his supporters, such as myself, need to recognize and hold him to task for when it crops up.

After all, this time, it was just words, not deeds, and that’s likely because he was called to task for it.

He might not be a true believer in the Second Amendment, but he’s pragmatic not to burn bridges with his allies on the issue, too.

Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to lie about gun owners and the Second Amendment. 

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