Sarah Sanders: Trump Pushing Only the Gun Control Measures He Thinks Can Easily Pass Is ‘Bold Leadership’

‘What He Is Pushing Forward Are Things That Can Be Immediately Accomplished’

Sarah Huckabee Sanders several times Monday afternoon was forced to defend President Donald Trump’s flip-flopping on gun control measures, ultimately declaring that advocating for only those proposals that he thinks easily can pass through Congress is “bold leadership.” 

Asked if President Trump’s gun control proposal includes any measures opposed by the NRA, Huckabee Sanders would not answer yes or no, then pivoted to raising the minimum age to 21 to buy firearms – which she suggested may have to be done “on a state-by-state basis.”

“What he is pushing forward are things that can be immediately accomplished,” Huckabee Sanders told reporters Monday afternoon.

“The president’s primary focus is on pushing through things that we know have broad bipartisan support or things that we can do from an administrative perspective.”

Asked again why Trump has backed away after promising to raise the age limit on firearms to 21, Huckabee Sanders again suggested that there’s little support for it – despite polls showing 8 in 10 Americans support raising the age minimum to 21. And she called picking only those issues that can easily pass in Congress first “bold leadership.”

When a reporter directly questioned Trump’s false claim Monday that there’s little support for raising the age limit, Huckabee Sanders said the president was referring to Congress. She did not at any time suggest he would lead by personally advocating for his agenda.