President Trump: He addressed NRA members at their annual meeting for nearly an hour. See highlights below.
Earlier: Trump spoke to the press on his way to the NRA meeting in Dallas. He made news on an array of issues, from Rudy Giuliani, to North Korea, to Stormy Daniels.
Our live coverage has ended. Read below to see how the day unfolded.
President Trump tweeted about guns and immigration, as he returned to Washington tonight.
Earlier today, Trump spoke at the National Rifle Association convention in Dallas, Texas.
Trump tweeted this tonight:
National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre said “political” and “media elites” blamed the organization for recent tragedies.
“The political elites, media elites, they demonize us and shame us and they try to blame us for the horrible tragedies that could have and should have been prevented,” he told the crowd at the convention late this afternoon.
President Trump just addressed the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Dallas. He spoke for nearly 50 minutes and brought up a wide variety of topics.
Here are the highlights:
President Trump at the NRA convention called attention to the “red flags” that were present before the Parkland school shooter carried out his attack.
“There has never been a case where more red flags have been shown,” Trump said, as he promised his administration was “working to improve early warning systems.”
Since the attack, Trump has repeatedly brought up alleged missed signals. The day after the shooting, the President suggested on Twitter that the shooting could have been prevented, noting that those who knew the shooter “knew he was a big problem.”
Trump, during his NRA speech today, called attention to the modest measures he signed into law in the wake of the Parkland shooting, but made no mention of the series of reforms he called for in its immediate wake, which the NRA opposed. Trump made no mention of his past support for raising the age of purchase for certain firearms, his calls for “comprehensive” gun law reforms and his support for expanding background checks.
Instead, he focused on the bill he signed into law which included $2 million in school safety funding and modest improvements in reporting to the background check system — all measures supported by the NRA.
Trump also said more needs to be done to “harden certain schools.”
President Trump said he believes in “allowing highly trained teachers to carry concealed weapons.”
“They’re highly trained. And we want highly trained security guards,” he said.
Trump said teachers need to be given a chance to protect their students.
Trump continued “gun-free zone” signs are inviting to school shooters.
“This school is a gun-free zone come in and take us,” he said.
President Trump kept up his attacks on Democratic Sen. Jon Tester Friday during a riff on immigration, saying that what the Senator did to his pick to lead the VA, Ronny Jackson, was “a disgrace.”
“We’re going to keep the violent criminals out. Senate Democrats like Jon Tester, you saw what happened there, what he did to one of the finest people in our country, what he did to the admiral, what he did is a disgrace. John Tester,” he said
Tester led the congressional oversight on Jackson’s nomination to lead the VA. Jackson withdrew his name as he faced a number of accusations of misconduct.
President Trump said the current immigration laws were written by lawmakers who do not love the United States.
“We have laws written by people that truly could not love our country,” Trump told the National Rifle Association.
Trump’s comment came as he slammed US immigration laws as “the worst laws” and promised – more than a year into his term as President – that “we’re going to start defending our country, we’re going to start defending our borders.”
“Illegal immigration must end. We have maxed out every law,” Trump said.
Speaking about gun laws, President Trump satirized gun control, noting that Chicago has tough gun laws but a problem with gun violence.
He added that “we are going to have to outlaw” trucks and vans.
“We all know what’s going on in Chicago but Chicago has the toughest gun laws – they’re so tough, but you know what’s happening. It seems that if we’re going to outlaw guns like so many people want to do – Democrats – you better get out and vote, then we will… We are going to have to outlaw immediately all vans and all trucks, which are now the new form of death,” he said.
Citing recent knife attacks in London, Trump said, “They don’t have guns. They have knives and instead there’s blood all over the floors of this hospital.”
“They say it’s as bad as a military war zone hospital … knives, knives, knives. London hasn’t been used to that. They’re getting used to that. It’s pretty tough,” Trump said.
President Trump said the US is “doing really well with North Korea.” He told the NRA crowd this just hours after announcing the administration had set a time and location for his meeting with Kim Jong Un.
“We’re really doing well with North Korea. We’re really doing well, OK,” Trump said.
Trump then hinted that he has tried to tone down his “rhetoric” when it comes to North Korea. (A few months ago, he famously promised “fire and fury” against the regime.)
“Now I’m trying to calm it down a bit,” Trump said. “Look, for years, for years they’ve had this problem and everybody has said, ‘oh, don’t talk, don’t talk, please don’t talk.’ The last administration had a policy of silence. Don’t talk! You may make them and him angry! Don’t talk.”
President Trump lamented the ongoing special counsel’s investigation during his speech to the NRA on Friday, quoted comments from a federal judge who suggested on Friday that the special counsel was aiming to hurt Trump by prosecuting Paul Manafort.
Reading directly from a CNN report about a federal judge’s comments about the Mueller probe, Trump argued that the investigation is an ongoing “witch hunt” and praised Manafort as a “good person.
“Let me tell you folks, we’re all fighting battles, but I love fighting these battles,” Trump said.
Trump also once again downplayed Manafort’s time at the helm of his campaign, saying he’s “a nice guy, but you know he worked for me for a very short period of time – like what, a couple months?”
“Manafort, was there for a short while but he’s a good person, I really believe he’s a good person,” Trump said.
President Trump urged the crowd at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting not to become “complacent” heading into the midterm elections as he sought to galvanize the base.
“Don’t be complacent. Don’t be complacent,” Trump urged the crowd. “History says that when you win the presidency, you get complacent. You know the feeling?…Like 90% of the time you win the presidency and for whatever reason you lose the midterm. We can’t let that happen. And the word is complacent.”
Still, Trump predicted that Republicans will do well in 2018, arguing “the Democrats are very concerned.”
“You watch how well we do in ’18, you watch,” Trump said.
President Trump, during his remarks at the NRA Convention, thanked artist Kanye West for a bump in his African American approval numbers.
“By the way, Kanye West must have some power, because you probably saw I doubled my African-American poll numbers. We went from 11 to 22 in one week, thank you Kanye,” he said, joking that “even the pollsters” thought there was a mistake.
Last week, Kanye West remained defiant amid mounting backlash from fans over the rapper’s positive words about Trump, tweeting a picture of himself wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and criticizing former President Barack Obama.
President Trump promised to protect the Second Amendment as long as he is President.
“Thanks to your activism and dedication, you have an administration fighting to protect your Second Amendment and we will protect your Second Amendment,” he said.
Trump told the crowd of NRA members that their Second Amendment right is under attack.
Vice President Mike Pence called on the national media to “start telling the whole story to the American people about firearms in this country.”
Pence provided several examples of gun owners who used their firearms to stop crimes in progress.
During his speech to the National Rifle Association, Vice President Mike Pence referenced several mass shootings.
“We live in a time where mass shootings have claimed hundreds of lives in places of work and worship and public settings,” Pence said. “An ISIS-inspired attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, an attack on a country music concert last year in Las Vegas — the worst mass shooting in modern history. And the recent attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.”
Pence went on to talk about school safety and arming teachers.
“We can protect public safety and due process at the same time,” Pence said.
“We will end this evil and protect our liberties at the same time. That’s the American way.”
Watch more:
Vice President Mike Pence is addressing the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Dallas.
Trump will speak soon after Pence.
Watch more:
Rudy Giuliani gave a series of interviews this week that took many staffers in the White House aback. Today, Trump said he would “get his facts straight.”
As President Trump prepares to speak to the NRA in Dallas, Giuliani just now put out a statement of his own, saying he wants to “clarify the views I expressed over the past few days.”
Here’s his statement:
Air Force One just touched down in rainy Dallas, Texas, where Trump will address the National Rifle Association conference at 2 p.m. ET.
President Trump spoke at the National Riffle Association’s 2017 annual convention, too.
Here are a few things he said in his speech last year:
Watch more:
