GOP lawmaker: Trump will win fight against NRA on gun control

In Friday’s episode of “The Daily” podcast, Rep. Tom Rooney said Trump is more popular in deep-red districts like his than the gun lobbying group is. Thus, he said, Trump has the power to help change the trajectory of gun control legislation and cement Trump’s legacy “in a positive way.”

“When the president had that roundtable at the White House, you heard him saying some stuff that I know made the NRA uncomfortable,” said Rooney, a lifetime member of the NRA. “But if anybody has the power, and I really think this could be a game changer for President Trump with regards to how people perceive him. If he’s able to have meaningful gun control legislation pass, I really think that would be a huge part of his legacy in a positive way.”

Trump on Wednesday hosted a meeting with Democratic and Republican lawmakers at the White House on guns and school safety. Trump floated the idea of ignoring due process, but also shocked Republicans when he appeared to side with Democrats on gun control. Trump also asked Republican Sen. Pat Toomey whether he’s “afraid of the NRA.”

Rooney explained that many lawmakers are hesitant to act on gun control legislation because “the NRA has an extremely sophisticated ability to either help you or hurt you from being able to continue to call yourself a congressman.”

The only way that will change, Rooney argued, is if someone on the Right who is viewed in a better light than the NRA stands up to the group.

“I think the president wins that fight,” he said, predicting Republicans would fall in line behind Trump. “It’s just a matter of how far he’s willing to go.”

Trump has offered a number of proposals to stop gun violence in schools in the days since the Parkland, Fla., massacre. He said he would support a move to raise the age threshold for buying firearms to 21 from 18, a change the NRA does not back, along with enhanced background checks. He has also proposed arming trained teachers.