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By APD writer Lu Jiafei
Donald Trump’s surreal yet historic ascent to the political apex relied on the power of fear. He masterfully aroused, stirred up and tapped into the electorate’s fear of terrorism and crime. But even a demagogue as disruptive as Trump understands that he cannot govern simply by fear.
So, when the country was again reeling from the latest loss of 17 lives to a lone shooter, Trump, after a whole week of silence on gun control, suddenly proclaimed that he understood the urgency to solve the dire issue of rampant mass shootings.
Unwittingly or not, Trump is rekindling public hope for the overdue move on gun control. He may get some credit for now, but his failure to deliver substantial results would backfire and haunt his already troubled presidency.
“We cannot merely take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference,” said Trump at the White House. “We must actually make a difference.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders went even further, claiming at a daily briefing that the Trump administration had not “closed the door on any front,” including a broader ban on assault weapons used frequently in recent massacres.
So far, Trump’s proposals on gun control range from minor reforms, such as banning bump stocks and improving the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, to drastic changes, including raising the legal age to buy rifles.
Should the Americans be optimistic this time? If not for anything else, Trump’s tumultuous presidency has taught us one thing: rather than building on hope, Trump dashes hope.
If Trump initially professed to defy the powerful lobbyist group the National Rifle Association (NRA), the very group he on the campaign trail had pledged unswerving allegiance to, he soon craved to NRA’s controversial positions on gun control.
Over the last weekend, Wayne LaPierre, NRA’s executive vice president, gave a combative and provocative speech on gun rights, accusing gun control advocate of “wasted (wasting) not one second to exploit tragedy for political gain.”
As usual, LaPierre’s responses to mass shooting incidents were shocking. But Trump was a huge fan.
“What many people don’t understand, or don’t want to understand, is that Wayne, Chris and the folks who work so hard at the @NRA are Great People and Great American Patriots. They love our Country and will do the right thing,” Trump tweeted just before Lapierre’s speech.
If Trump’s blatant cheerleading for the NRA was outrageous, wait for him to give his speech on gun control.
Hours after NRA chief’s provocative speech, in which he advocated fiercely for eliminating gun- free zones, including the school campus, and hardening the schools, Trump shed light on his view on how to enhance school safet. And guess what were this president’s suggestions? It seemed that he shared the same speech script with the NRA chief.
“We have to harden our schools, not soften them. A gun-free zone to a killer or somebody who wants to be a killer, that’s like going in for the ice cream. That’s like ‘here I am, take me,’” said the president at the White House.
You may find the president raving, but that was just the beginning. In fact, the gist of Trump’s proposal was that he would be willing to offer bonus to encourage so- called qualified and fit educators to bring guns to the schools.
“Now what I'd recommend doing is the people that do carry (guns), we give them a bonus, we give them a little bit of a bonus, because frankly they'd feel more comfortable having the gun anyway, you give them a little bit of a bonus, so practically for free you've now made the school into a hardened target,” he added.
Trump did appear to differ from the NRA in terms of raising the minimum age for purchasing assault rifles, frequently used in massacres in the country.
Does the highly possible opposition from the NRA bother him?
“I really think the NRA wants to do what’s right. I mean, they’re very close to me; I’m very close to them; they’re very, very great people. They love this country. They’re patriots. The NRA wants to do the right thing.”Such was Trump’s optimism.
Should ordinary Americans be concerned that Trump would concede his position on the issue to the NRA? There were ample precedents to predict that he would most likely to budge.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump once signaled that he was open to supporting the “no fly, no buy” bill stalled in the U.S. Congress, by which individuals on the federal terrorist watch list would be forbidden from buying guns.
Trump’s position on the bill bucked the NRA, buthe later withdrew his support for the bill, arguing that he “understands exactly” the NRA’s stance.
Lu Jiafei, researcher of APD Institute. After spending one year in Palestine covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict between 2013 and 2014, Lu moved to Washignton, D.C. and covered the 2016 U.S. presidential election till the very end of Donald Trump’s upset victory. He is a political contributor to APD.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
