CNN's Anderson Cooper asked Dana Loesch why the NRA isn't attacking Trump. Trump effectively answered.


At a televised meeting with lawmakers Wednesday, President Trump endorsed a number of gun control measures opposed by the NRA, and the NRA's reaction was notably chill. On Thursday night, the NRA's chief lobbyist, Chris Cox, announced on Twitter he'd just met with Trump, and Trump supports "strong due process" and doesn't "want gun control." Trump confirmed the unannounced "Good (Great)" Oval Office meeting an hour later.
"The twin tweets suggest that it may have taken the gun rights group a little over a day to persuade the president to back away from his apparent embrace of Democratic gun control measures," The New York Times says. About the same time Trump and Cox were tweeting, CNN's Anderson Cooper was asking NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch why her group wasn't attacking Trump.
"Does the NRA feel betrayed by the president?" Cooper asked Loesch, who replied with a list of talking points about age limits. Cooper tried again: "If President Obama had said, 'You know, I kind of believe in taking the guns first and then going through due process second,' I imagine the NRA would have spoken out incredibly strongly about that." Loesch laughed, saying Obama had "a very different approach" and "did not even come close to thinking, as President Trump does, on, for example, national reciprocity or a number of other issues." (She's referring to a concealed-carry expansion, a top priority for the NRA, which Trump shot down Wednesday.)
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Cooper asked again if the NRA feels betrayed by Trump, suggesting Loesch's group is "going out of your way" to "not go after him" as it would a Democratic president. "I can't react, and I don't think NRA members can react, to something that hasn't happened yet," she said. "So you think it's just talk from him?" Cooper asked. "It could be," Loesch said. "I mean, I think he's just entertaining both sides" and "just in a discussion phase."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Trump executive order targets homeless
Speed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
Speed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election losses
Speed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office
-
President diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency'
Speed Read The vein disorder has given Trump swollen ankles and visible bruising on his hands
-
'Bawdy' Trump letter supercharges Epstein scandal
Speed Read The Wall Street Journal published details of Trump's alleged birthday letter to Epstein