Two-time running mates former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, who may soon be opponents for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, spoke at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Indianapolis on Friday.
The NRA convention is not just a gathering for gun enthusiasts; it also attracts Republican presidential hopefuls who want to showcase their support for Second Amendment rights. The NRA endorsed Trump during its 2016 annual convention.
Pence was booed briefly by the crowd as he took the stage in his home state of Indiana, where he was once the governor. Pence responded with, “I love you, too.” The former vice president acknowledged the recent mass shootings in Nashville and Louisville during his remarks, offering prayers for the families affected.
Pence said America doesn’t need gun control, instead “we need crime control.” The former vice president also called to “institutionalize the obviously mentally ill” as a way to help prevent gun violence.
Trump spoke a little later in the afternoon, claiming President Joe Biden is waging a “war” on gun owners. In a roundabout way, Trump brought up the criminal prosecution against him.
“They want to weaponize and interfere with our elections through the use of the DOJ, the FBI and local attorney generals and district attorneys,” Trump said of his opponents. “That’s happening to me, but we’re doing very well, thank you.”
The former president said that if he returns to the White House, the reign of Democrats will be “over” and “America will be a free nation once again.”
“And I promise you this, with me at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, no one will lay a finger on your firearms, just as took place for four years when I was your president,” Trump said.
Pence hasn’t yet announced whether he will seek the presidency, but he has been visiting early-voting primary states, while Trump, the first major candidate in the race, and his allies insist the voters are already lined up to support him. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who recently declared he’s running for president, is making an appearance at the convention. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not appearing in person at the convention, but the event will feature a video address from him.
Trump has bashed his former vice president ever since Pence affirmed Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021, and has even tried to shift the blame for the riot to Pence, saying last month, “in many ways, you can blame him,” meaning Pence, for what transpired that day.
Earlier this month, Pence decided not to appeal a ruling requiring him to testify before a grand jury as part of a special counsel investigation into the assault on the Capitol, but Trump’s legal team is still trying to keep Pence from testifying.
Last year, Trump mocked Republicans who decided not to attend the convention when it was held in Texas just days after the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead. Trump said, “unlike some others, I didn’t disappoint you by not showing up today,” before reading the names of the children who died that day.
This year’s convention takes place after recent mass shootings at a private religious school in Nashville and a bank in Louisville, Kentucky.
— Mus Bidar contributed to this report
