President Donald Trump did not mention gun policy once in what turned out to be the longest address to a joint session of Congress in history.
On Tuesday, Trump gave an hour-and-45-minute speech to the House and Senate. While he covered a myriad of topics during the marathon session, he did not make even a passing mention of gun policy.
That continues a trend of Trump downplaying guns in favor of other issues during his campaign and the early months of his second term.
The lack of attention to firearms during his congressional address, despite its length, mirrors Trump’s hour-and-a-half-long RNC keynote speech, where he also ducked the issue. It also follows him skipping out on gun executive orders during his day-one push to jumpstart his agenda. The White House then left gun rights off its literal priority list.
Trump had promised to enact a series of pro-gun reforms during his first week in office but failed to deliver on that timeline.
“Every single Biden attack on gun owners and manufacturers will be terminated my very first week back in office,” Trump said during a speech to NRA members last February.
However, Trump does have a concrete move he could have highlighted in the speech. He followed up those early moves by ordering a review of the executive branch’s approach to gun policy, especially federal rules established during the Biden Administration. So, he may still fulfill his promise to NRA members in the long run.
“The Second Amendment is an indispensable safeguard of security and liberty,” the executive order said. “It has preserved the right of the American people to protect ourselves, our families, and our freedoms since the founding of our great Nation. Because it is foundational to maintaining all other rights held by Americans, the right to keep and bear arms must not be infringed.”
While the order only tells Attorney General Pam Bondi to review policies, it lays out most priority areas the gun-rights movement has focused on for years. It has the potential to uproot most of the restrictions the Biden Administration imposed through executive actions and transform the federal government’s legal position in gun cases.
Bondi, who has faced criticism from gun-rights advocates over her history of backing some gun restrictions, will have some say over which policies to change. How big the administration decides to go on reforming those policies could determine whether gun-rights advocates remain on board with Trump’s presidency.
