The White House on Monday defended President Trump’s gun proposals as it faced questions about whether he had “chickened out” in the face of pressure from the National Rifle Association (NRA).
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump “hasn’t backed away” from his support for expanding background checks or raising the age limit on gun purchases, although neither was addressed in a plan the administration rolled out Sunday night.
The NRA, which contributed heavily to Trump’s election campaign in 2016, opposes both measures.
“He hasn’t backed away from these things at all,” Sanders said at a press briefing, where she faced numerous questions on the issue, including from a Washington Post reporter who said the president seemed “petrified” by opposition from the NRA and wondered whether he had “chickened out.”
“They’re still outlined in the plan,” Sanders said.
Sanders made the case that Trump is focusing first on proposals that have “broad bipartisan support” or that could be accomplished “immediately” through the regulatory process or federal action.
She insisted that the president still supports raising age limits on gun purchases and expanding background checks, but said both would require more political pressure and further review before action can be taken.
“He can’t make them happen with a broad stroke of the pen,” Sanders said. “You have to have some congressional component to do some of these things, and without that support, it’s not as possible.”
The White House is under growing pressure to act on the president’s proposed gun restrictions after last month’s shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead.
Weeks ago at a White House meeting with lawmakers from both parties, Trump accused Republicans of fearing the NRA and of backing down against it. He also repeatedly said he was different from other presidents and that he would take action in response to gun violence.
But the proposals advanced in a White House plan rolled out Sunday included little that would bother the NRA — a point that reporters sought to drive home in several contentious exchanges with Sanders on Monday.
“It seemed like President Trump was the one petrified of the NRA,” the Post reporter said.
An exasperated Sanders said the White House was focused on what it could accomplish in the near-term, while also noting that former President Obama was not able to do anything on gun control.