Former President Donald Trump On Saturday the idea of a third term if he wins in November was raised.
“You know, FDR 16 years – almost 16 years – he was four terms. I don’t know, are we considered a three-term term? Or two terms?” Trump joked at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting, where he spoke before a crowd of gun rights advocates.
Some in the crowd shouted in response, “Three.”
This is not the first time Trump has said he wants to extend his stay in the White House, an idea he floated during his stay campaign trail in 2020. His latest comments provide more fodder for the Biden campaign seized the comments as it attempts to portray Trump as a threat to democracy and institutional norms.
But Trump recently dismissed the proposal to seek a third term, which is barred by the Constitution. And he told Time Magazine in an interview in April that he would not be in favor of challenging the 22nd Amendment:
“I would absolutely not be in favor of it. I plan to serve four years and do a great job. And I want to bring our country back. I want to get it back on track. Our country is going under. We are a failing country right now. We are a nation in turmoil,” he said.
During a meandering speech in Dallas on Saturday, Trump addressed thousands of gun rights advocates. The former president spoke about guns and the Second Amendment, but also touched on immigration, foreign policy, the economy and abortion. At one point he labeled Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a “radical left” as he continued his attacks Biden and CNN on the debates.
His trip to Dallas comes as his criminal trial in New York nears the finish line, with closing arguments expected as early as Tuesday. By this time next week, the former president could be a convicted felon or freshly acquitted on charges of covering up a 2016 hush-money scheme. Trump denounced his charges on Saturday and also complained about the silence order issued under Judge Juan Merchan.
Trump, who occasionally returned to the gun issue, spoke for a very different NRA than the one that supported him just eight years ago. In May 2016, the organization endorsed Trump and would go on to spend more than $30 million to send him to the White House. On Saturday, the NRA again endorsed Trump, support that comes as both the former president and the nation’s largest gun group face mounting legal challenges, raising questions about how much money the organization will be able to pour into Trump’s bid to return to the cause in 2024 to gain power.
“The support of the proud patriots of the NRA. These are great patriots. These are great people. We’re going to do things that no one can believe,” Trump said.
He also urged gun owners, from whom he said he had heard “no votes,” to come out in November to secure his victory.
“Let’s be rebellious and vote this time, okay?” Trump said.
Trump used Saturday’s speech — the ninth time he has addressed the nation’s largest gun lobby — to stoke enthusiasm among some of his most loyal supporters, a key fundraising constituency. The NRA cheered Trump during his first term, when he appointed three conservative Supreme Court justices and took steps under pressure from the gun lobby, including his designation of gun and ammunition dealers as critical infrastructure during Covid.
Trump also used the site to protest President Joe Biden’s restrictions on gun ownership and vowed to roll back gun safety regulations passed by his administration.
Biden has taken a number of steps to address gun violence, issuing a slew of executive actions and creating the first-ever federal Gun Violence Prevention Office — moves that have angered the gun lobby. The president recently took steps to expand background checks for gun purchases, in an effort to close a loophole that allowed gun sales without background checks outside of brick-and-mortar stores.
“If the Biden regime gets four more years, they will come for your guns,” Trump said. “Crooked Joe Biden has 40 years of experience in ripping firearms out of the hands of law-abiding citizens.”
While Trump presided over the event, the weight of the NRA’s support and its relevance in the country’s politics this cycle is becoming increasingly murky. The group has been beset by scandals, internal infighting and lawsuits that have drained its coffers, creating uncertainty about how much money it can release to support Trump at a time when its own war chest is lagging behind Biden’s.
“No matter what you’ve heard, we are strong. We are healthy. We are as resolute, committed and united as ever,” said Andrew Arulanandam, interim CEO and executive vice president of the NRA, before Trump’s speech.
The politics surrounding guns have changed in recent years as gun violence continues to plague the country. After the Uvalde school shooting in 2022, Democrats and Republicans voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first gun safety legislation in 30 years. Candidates from either party paid no electoral price in the midterm elections, which gun safety advocates attribute to what they see as a seismic shift in politics surrounding the issue that has been building for years.
Coinciding with Saturday’s event, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee launched the “Gun Owners for Trump” coalition, led by Olympic athletes, firearms industry leaders and public advocates. The press release said the coalition “will push back against efforts by Biden and gun-grabbing Democrats to erode the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
The Democratic National Committee, in turn, had a mobile billboard in Dallas attacking Trump’s NRA speech. The billboard passed headlines about the former president, his gun policies and past comments during mass shootings. The words were shown on one screen “get over it” — a reference to Trump’s comments following a school shooting in Iowa earlier this year — while another highlighted the former president saying mass shootings are not a ‘gun problem’.
“Donald Trump puts the NRA above the safety of Americans,” the mobile billboard read.
