Last Updated on May 28, 2022
Former President Trump received a very warm reception from the crowd at Houston’s NRA convention after he refused to back out of the event in the wake of the Uvalde shooting. The former president questioned how Democrats, with the help of establishment Republicans, can send over $50 billion to Ukraine but can’t find the funds to secure America’s schools.
Trump spoke at the NRA convention after a handful of attendees backed out. Among those who buckled under the pressure were country singer Lee Greenwood — who sings “God Bless the USA” — and U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX).
Trump affirmed that he would be attending the event earlier in the week and mocked those who backed out.
“On Friday night, I’ll be in Houston and we’ll be making a speech and discussing a lot of the things which you would agree to,” Trump told Sebastian Gorka on a call-in earlier in the week. “And you know, you have to protect, you have to protect your Second Amendment, you have to give that Second Amendment great protection because without it, we would be a very dangerous country, frankly.”
On Friday afternoon, Trump took the stage at the George R. Brown Convention Center and received loud cheers from the crowd. He began his NRA convention speech with a moment of silence to honor the Uvalde massacre victims.
“Each precious young soul that was taken is an incomprehensible loss, literally not comprehensible, stolen from us by a malice that no words can describe, sickness,” the president said. “The monster who committed this crime is pure evil, pure cruelty, pure hatred, absolute pure hatred and while those he slaughtered are now with God in Heaven, he will be eternally damned to burn in the fires of Hell.”
He then blasted familiar actions from Democrats who immediately move to grab guns and blame conservatives.
“Now is the time to find common ground. Sadly before the sun had even set on the horrible day of tragedy, we witnessed a now-familiar parade of cynical politicians seeking to exploit the tears of sobbing families to increase their own power and take away our constitutional rights,” Trump told NRA convention attendees. “Every time a disturbed or demented person commits such a hideous crime, there’s always a grotesque effort by some in our society to use the suffering of others to advance their own political agenda.”
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“When Joe Biden blamed the gun lobby, he was talking about Americans like you and along with countless other Democrats this week he was shamefully suggesting that Republicans are somehow ok with letting school shootings happen. They’re not ok with it,” he continued.
The former president received what was the loudest reaction of the night when he compared Democrat and GOP establishment commitment to Ukraine while America’s schools remain soft targets. He called for schools to be the “single hardest target in our country” and urged lawmakers to allow teachers to carry.
“This is not a matter of money,” Trump said. “This is a matter of will. The United States has $40 billion to send to Ukraine. We should be able to do whatever it takes to keep our children safe,” Trump said to a thunderous applause.
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The U.S. recently approved an additional $40 billion in aid to Ukraine. The European nation has received $54 billion from U.S. taxpayers since February while more could very well be on the way.
