Former President Trump will deliver remarks at a National Rifle Association (NRA) event in Georgia later this month, addressing a gathering of gun rights activists in a key battleground state.
Trump will speak at the NRA’s “Defend the 2nd” event, which will take place in Savannah on Oct. 22. His remarks come as Vice President Harris, the Democratic nominee, has spoken more openly about being a gun owner as she seeks to ease concerns about how she would seek to curb gun violence.
“This election is a pivotal one for America’s gun owners. Kamala Harris and her far-left allies have big plans to erode Second Amendment protections,” NRA executive vice president and CEO Doug Hamlin said in a statement.
“Donald J. Trump has proven himself a fighter for Americans’ right to keep and bear arms,” Hamlin added. “We are excited to have him speak at our Defend the 2nd event and to support his return to the White House in January.”
The former president has spoken annually at NRA events, vowing to protect gun rights and warning of the risks to gun owners if Democrats are elected.
In a speech at an annual NRA meeting in 2023, Trump said he would look to prevent school shootings by putting more guns in the building and incentivizing teachers to take firearm training. He also said he would ask Congress to pass a bill to create “national concealed carry reciprocity.”
Despite multiple mass shootings during his first term, Trump did not oversee the passage of any major gun legislation.
Trump in 2018 accused Republicans of fearing the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Parkland High School in Florida, and he suggested he would take action on the issue. But the White House’s eventual proposal that year did not address expanded background checks or raising the age for gun purchases, changes the NRA opposed.
Then-President Trump again in 2019 flirted with supporting stronger gun laws after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, but no major legislation was passed by Congress.
Harris has spoken repeatedly about the need to address gun violence, and she has joined President Biden at the White House for announcements about efforts to reduce the number of gun deaths and tighten restrictions on certain gun sales. As a candidate, Harris has called for Congress to reinstate a ban on assault weapons.
At the same time, she has sought to moderate her image on guns ahead of Election Day. She has spoken multiple times about being a gun owner, joking in an appearance with Oprah Winfrey that anyone breaking into her house was “getting shot.”
Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), has also spoken publicly about his transformation from a lawmaker who received an “A” rating from the NRA to a governor who signed significant gun legislation into law.
“Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We’re not taking anybody’s guns away. So stop with the continuous lying about this stuff,” Harris said at a Sept. 10 debate with Trump.
