Former President Trump urged National Rifle Association (NRA) members to “be rebellious and vote” for him in the 2024 election, after accepting the endorsement from the gun rights advocacy group.
Trump pledged to thousands of attendees at NRA’s convention in Dallas that he will “stand strong for your rights and liberties,” claiming the Second Amendment is “under siege” while President Biden is in office.
The presumptive GOP nominee said that while gun owners may not usually vote, it was “important” they turn out in November.
“We would swamp them at levels that nobody’s ever seen before,” he said Saturday, receiving laughs from those in the audience. “So, I think you’re a rebellious bunch, but let’s be rebellious and vote this time.”
“You’ve got to get all your friends and all the gun owners they have to go in they have to vote if they vote, there’s nobody that can beat us,” he added, before thanking NRA officials for their support.
Trump stated during his speech, his ninth address before the NRA, that the rights of gun owners are “definitely” on the ballot in 2024, arguing the administration would “come for your guns 100 percent,” if Biden is reelected. The former president has been criticized by Biden for his past remarks regarding school shootings.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) ran billboards near NRA’s venue ahead of the convention, hitting Trump for his rhetoric on gun violence and reform. The former president made similar comments to NRA members in Pennsylvania earlier this year, vowing stronger protections for gun owners if elected in November.
“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,” he said at the time.
After praising North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running to become the state’s governor, Trump turned his ire to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate.
“He’s radical left,” Trump said. “Don’t think about it. Don’t waste your vote.”
“We need a conservative person with common sense, this guy is radical left who destroyed New York,” he added.
Both candidates are set to appear at the upcoming Libertarian Party convention. Kennedy challenged Trump to a debate when both men appear at the convention in D.C.
“RFK Jr. calls you a terrorist group,” he said of Kennedy. “He calls you a terrorist group, can’t vote for him.”