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The White House reacted late Tuesday against claims by the National Rifle Association (NRA) that President Trump asserted that the universal background check was not on the agenda, while pressures were ongoing for legislation to be taken following two deadly murders earlier this month.
The Atlantic released Tuesday an article in which it was written that Trump had chosen not to check the background, citing a "person informed of the call". But a White House official, speaking to Fox News, said that "meaningful" background checks remained a legislative option, and denied that Trump said he supported universal background checks.
In a message posted on the NRA's official Twitter account, the president of the organization, Wayne LaPierre, did not reveal the contents of his appeal with Trump.
"I spoke to the president today," said LaPierre, who had survived a leadership challenge in April, in a tweet released Tuesday on the NRA's official minutes. "We discussed the best ways to prevent these types of tragedies."
This back and forth comes shortly after Trump hinted that he was in favor of new legislation on background checks after the Dayton (Ohio) and El Paso (Texas) massacres. , who have left dozens of dead.
"Frankly, we need a smart background check," Trump said on Aug. 9, adding that it was not a "NRA, Republican or Democrat issue." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Also said that "bipartisan" gun rights reforms were on the table.
"We do not want mentally ill, sick people – we do not want them to have guns," Trump said.
But, last Sunday, Trump seemed to go back, citing what he called a "big" mental health problem, and noting that "we have a lot of background checks now … very, very strong. "
Addressing reporters from the Oval Office, Trump also noted "many people who place me where I am are staunch supporters of the Second Amendment" and told him that he was afraid of losing the contrast between them. Republicans and Democrats.
"We have to be very careful about that," he said.
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And the president said he was worried about the potential risk of a "slippery slope", where "all of a sudden, everything is stolen". Barely 11 days earlier, Trump had rejected the same idea of "slippery slope", which he had attributed to the NRA. "I do not agree with that," he said then.
This group angered the Democrats, including Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., who stated that if Trump really wanted to take action, he should ask McConnell to put a project to the vote. of law on the background checks of the Assembly.
"These are heartbreaking retreats, especially for the families of the victims of gun violence," Schumer tweeted.
The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, reported that LaPierre had personally warned Trump in early August that the endorsement of more difficult background checks would not be popular with his election base.
House Democrats have called for federal background checks on the sale of firearms, as well as the extension of existing background checks to include virtually all arms sales in exhibitions or online.
DOSSIER – In this archival photo of August 3, 2019, members of the medical staff of the El Paso Fire Department went to the scene of a shootout on a Walmart located near from the Cielo Vista shopping center in El Paso, Texas. The FBI has described two of these attacks, at Texas Walmart and the California Kitchen Festival, as domestic terrorism – acts that intimidate or coerce a civilian population and influence government policy. But the office was not so far with a shootout in an entertainment district of Ohio. (Mark Lambie / Paso Time via AP, File)
Currently, the National Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is used for sales involving licensed firearms dealers, which make up the majority of all arms sales. fire.
But Republicans have refused to support several gun-control bills passed by Democrats and have consistently opposed many efforts to strengthen national firearms laws.
Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Who spoke with Trump last week, said the president had expressed support for the idea of working across the hall "to introduce a bill on the background check that can be passed by the Senate and save lives. "
While he said that he would again be waiting for Trump to wait directly, he compared the episode to Trump's apparent flip-flop during background checks after filming Parkland, Fla. , after the intervention of the NRA.
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"It's time Republicans and President Trump decide on their side," Murphy said in a statement. "Will they stand alongside 90% of Americans who want a universal background check, or will they bow down again to the gun lobby's desires?"
John Roberts, Matt Leach and Fox News Associated Press contributed to this report.
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