Trump Falsely Claims ‘Not Much Political Support’ on Raising Age to 21 on Gun Purchases
President Donald Trump just effectively admitted the NRA has defeated him, days after the gun lobby filed a lawsuit against the State of Florida for raising the minimum age to purchase rifles, including assault weapons, to 21. Trump recently had another infamous bipartisan televised meeting with lawmakers, surprising Republicans by saying he would support many the Democrats’ gun control proposals. And he promised he would stand up to the NRA, all but mocking GOP lawmakers for fearing the gun group.
But Monday morning Trump tweeted that he’s “watching court cases and rulings before acting” on raising the minimum age from 18 to 21 on gun sales.
“States are making this decision,” Trump said. “Things are moving rapidly on this, but not much political support (to put it mildly),” he claimed.
That’s false.
“Raising the age limit on gun purchasers is also widely popular,” Politico reported two weeks after the Parkland massacre. “Eighty-two percent think the age limit should be 21 to purchase an assault-style weapon, and 81 percent support requiring purchasers of all firearms to be 21.”
In fact, after the Parkland, Florida school shooting massacre, support for gun control “spiked” – and that increase in support is coming mostly from Republicans.
“Roughly 2 in 3 Americans now say gun control laws should be made more strict in the wake of the murder of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School,” Politico reported. “The percentage of Americans who want more restrictive gun laws is greater now than after any other recent shooting.”
“Republican support for tougher gun laws is at its highest point since Morning Consult and POLITICO began tracking the issue,” Politico’s polling chief research officer says.
And a CBS News poll found support for stricter gun control measures increase 8 points – but 14 points among Republicans.Â
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