Trump had gotten all excited about it[1], probably since the Flynn sentencing requests suggested that he had been entrapped by the FBI, feeding into Trump’s “witch hunt” narrative. But in court, Flynn backed off those claims as the judge surgically eviscerated every GOP conspiracy theory[2] on the case. Flynn had to admit, under oath, that he knew that lying to the FBI was a crime, and that yes, he had knowingly lied. Oh well.
And finally, after decades of NRA-fueled hysteria about Democrats limiting the Second Amendment rights of gun nuts, it is Donald Trump who has finally delivered on those warnings, announcing the literal grabbing of bump stocks[3]—devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire faster. They’re a favorite of terrorists and the NRA, since they burn through ammo faster, allowing the (faster) killing of more people, while keeping ammunition makers fat and happy.
This grab is a good thing! Bump stock owners will have 90 days to turn in or destroy their bump stocks from the date the final rule is published. However, Trump is president by the grace of the Russian-backed NRA, and his supporters have been primed with decades of conspiracy theories about big government taking their weapons away. Trump has just stepped into a hornet’s nest, pissing off his dwindling base, with little political upside among people who already loathe him.
It’s clear Republican strategists are sweating the GOP’s loss of suburban white women. This is an attempt to pacify and lull them back to the Republican tent. But absent more significant gun reform measures, that is unlikely to happen (not to mention absent a change in Trump’s entire personality). But the crazies in the GOP will certainly notice this,
