Wayne LaPierre, the Chief Executive and Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, tweeted this out tonight:
I spoke to the president today. We discussed the best ways to prevent these types of tragedies. @realDonaldTrump is a strong #2A President and supports our Right to Keep and Bear Arms! – Wayne LaPierre
President Trump told the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre that universal background checks are off the table in upcoming discussions on protecting Americans from mass shooters.
The Daily Beast reported:
President Trump reportedly called embattled NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre on Tuesday to tell him universal background checks were off the table as a legislative response to the shootings in El Paso and Dayton.
The call, reported by The Atlantic, is the latest, and most direct, case of Trump backing away from a proposal that he seemed to embrace in the aftermath of those two recent mass shootings. And it left officials on the Hill scrambling for answers. One office that has consulted with the White House on background checks legislation said that they had not been informed that the president was shelving the idea, despite the report.