This week, we’re looking back at the 2024 election and forward at the next administration.
To do that, we have Semafor’s Dave Weigel on the show. He joined us shortly before the election to discuss each campaign’s gun messaging. Now, he’s back to sort through what worked, what didn’t, and where things go from here.
Weigel agreed there probably wasn’t enough detailed evidence to suss out exactly how well each message performed. But he said the recent downturn in Democratic support for handgun bans is probably tied to Kamala Harris emphasizing her Glock ownership. However, the fact handgun bans are so unpopular to begin with probably underscores how much her history of backing such bans drug her campaign down.
He also looked ahead at the new GOP-controlled federal government. Weigel said Donald Trump may be more motivated to undo what Joe Biden has done rather than push new gun-rights reforms of his own. He also said Congress is unlikely to pass significant new legislation but will be able to confirm a lot of pro-gun judges–though, he noted the GOP majority may be more fragile than it appears at first glance.
You can listen to the show on your favorite podcasting app or by clicking here. Video of the episode is available on our YouTube channel. An auto-generated transcript of the episode is available here. Reload Members can listen on Sunday, as always. Everyone else can listen on Monday.
Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I break down new gun polling data from Gallup. We also unpack data showing a shrinking gender gap, but a widening partisan gap, among gun owners. Finally, we wrap up with a pair of significant gun-related state Supreme Court rulings out of Pennsylvania and Iowa dealing with state preemption and the ability to restrict gun rights for persons with a history of being involuntarily committed.
