Bloomberg: McConnell may allow gun reform vote to boost reelection chances

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) on Sunday speculated that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) might allow a vote on gun control measures in the wake of two deadly mass shootings to increase his reelection chances.

“Mitch McConnell is up for reelection, and he’s running against somebody who, I’m told, is an attractive candidate. Mitch McConnell is going to look and say, ‘What does the public want as well?’” Bloomberg, who co-founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns in 2006, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“So I am optimistic that even Mitch will change his mind,” he added. “I hope so.”

{mosads}Bloomberg also cast doubt on the power of the National Rifle Association (NRA) to successfully lobby against measures such as universal background checks.

“The NRA takes no prisoners whatsoever and they lost 21 seats in the House. Flipped the House. And so now is the time to start working and helping the Republicans to see the light, because I don’t think this is a partisan issue,” Bloomberg told CBS’s Margaret Brennan.

President Trump has called for stronger background checks in the wake of the two shootings last weekend in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio that collectively killed at least 31 people, although he has made similar calls in the wake of previous shootings before backtracking.

NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre reportedly reached out to Trump recently to tell him the organization opposes stricter background checks.