Trump slams Cornyn as ‘RINO’ for bipartisan Senate deal on guns

Former President Trump on Wednesday slammed Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) as a “RINO,” or “Republican in name only,” over the bipartisan gun safety legislation he’d helped negotiate.

Trump also criticized the bill itself, which senators unveiled Tuesday evening, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

“The deal on ‘Gun Control’ currently being structured and pushed in the Senate by the Radical Left Democrats, with the help of Mitch McConnell, RINO Senator John Cornyn of Texas, and others, will go down in history as the first step in the movement to TAKE YOUR GUNS AWAY. Republicans, be careful what you wish for!!!” Trump wrote on his social platform Truth Social.

The bill negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators includes provisions to close the “boyfriend loophole” by adding dating partners to list of people who would no longer be able to purchase firearms if they are convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, strengthen background checks for those between 18 and 21 years old, and boost mental health treatment funding.  

Fourteen Republican senators voted to advance the bill Tuesday night, including McConnell, though top House Republican leaders have signaled they do not support the legislation.

The development comes less than a week after Cornyn, who has represented Texas in the Senate for almost two decades, was booed at the Texas GOP convention in Houston, particularly while speaking about what might be included in the gun deal.

The moment demonstrated the challenges Republicans may face with their base over the legislation, which came in the wake of several high-profile and fatal mass shootings.

Trump endorsed Cornyn in his 2020 reelection, and the former president’s position on guns has at times changed, including supporting background checks in 2019 and floating the idea in 2018 to “take the guns first, go through due process second” or people considered dangerous.

The Hill has reached out to Cornyn’s office for comment.