President Trump Strikes Conciliatory Tone With NRA

DALLAS, TX — Little more than two months since President Trump publicly expressed confidence that leaders of the 5-million strong National Rifle Association would "do the right thing," in the wake of the Florida School shooting, the president addressed the NRA on Friday for the fourth straight year in a row. His tone was much more conciliatory to the organization that spent $30 million to help get him elected than previous statements he made in the days after the school shooting. That seemed at odds with the president's promise to the families of the 17 Parkland shooting victims and survivors of the tragedy that he would stand up to the powerful gun lobby.

"Your Second Amendment rights are under siege but they will never ever be under siege as long as I'm your president," he said. "All of us here today are united by the same timeless values. We believe that our liberty is a gift from our creator and that no government can ever take it away."

President Trump followed Vice President Pence in delivering remarks to the National Rifle Association's 147th annual meeting and exhibit, also known as the Leadership Forum. The president gave a tip of the hat to Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who is up for re-election. You can watch the event below.

The crowd broke into chants of "USA" when the president told NRA members: "We all proudly stand for the National Anthem."

Parkland survivor David Hogg was critical of the president's appearance before the NRA. “It’s kind of hypocritical of him to go there after saying so many politicians bow to the NRA and are owned by them,” Hogg said. “It proves that his heart and his wallet are in the same place.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said this week that safety was a “big priority.” But, she added, “We also support the Second Amendment, and strongly support it, and don’t see there to be a problem with speaking at the National Rifle Association’s meeting.”

President Trump pointed to his "massive tax cuts," his progress in bringing North Korea to the negotiating table, his emphasis on strengthening border security and low unemployment rates in mustering NRA members to vote in the upcoming midterm elections. "We have the best employment numbers virtually we ever had yet all we hear about is this phony Russia witch hunt," the president said to cheers.

In what appeared to be a reference to the student-led March For Our Lives demonstration in the Nation's Capital, the president asked the crowd:

"Can you imagine if we ever called for a rally in Washington D.C., there wouldn't be enough room," he said. "We have a lot of love going on. People don't realize we have great love going on in this country. It's right here."

After expressing interest in increasing the minimum age to purchase a so-called assault weapon to 21, Trump later declared there was “not much political support” for the move. He then pushed off the issue of age restrictions by assigning the question to a commission. Trump’s moves have drawn concerns from both sides of the gun debate.

The president on Friday pointed to mass casualty events in London and Paris where tougher gun laws are already on the books and joked about regulating cars and trucks, which have been used in some attacks in place of guns.

"We are going to have to outlaw immediately all vans and new trucks which are now the new form of death for the maniac terrorists," he said. "They take a truck and they run over eight people and wound 60, like what happened in New York and what just happened. It's happening all over."

With respect to the Parkland shooting, the president said the nation was filled with "shock and grief" over the tragedy. "Our hearts break for every American who has suffered the horrors of these school shootings," the president said, noting that he recently signed legislation that includes $2 billion for school safety, including money for training, metal detectors and mental health.

The president included a reference to accused school shooter Nikolas Cruz, saying: "There has never been a case where more red flags have been shown" while praising the actions of Coconut Creek Officer Michael Leonard who arrested Cruz.

He also continued to imply that that some teachers should be able to carry guns in schools. "By the way these teachers, they love their students. They love their students. They understand it. They love their students and they are not going to let anybody hurt their students but you have to give them a chance," the president said.

Finally, the president saluted slain Officer Rogelio Santander of the Dallas Police Department, who died in April from injuries received during a shooting.

Watch the president's remarks below:

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump speaks at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum during the NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. The National Rifle Association's annual meeting and exhibit runs through Sunday. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)