During an interview with MailOnline contributor Piers Morgan, President Trump defended the Second Amendment by suggesting that if the Las Vegas attacker had lacked a firearm he “would have a bomb.”
Trump’s defense of the Second Amendment on January 28 was part of his overarching contention that “sick people,” rather than guns, are the problem.
The Daily Mail reports that Morgan indicated Paddock “bought 55 guns legally in the year prior to the October shooting that killed 58 and wounded nearly 1,000.”
Trump responded, “Well, we do have gun control laws and this sick person – he was a sicko. I mean that’s the big problem – they’re sick people. If he didn’t have a gun, he would have a bomb, or would have something else.”
Morgan then criticized the number of guns Americans can legally buy, stressing again that Paddock purchased 55.
Trump responded, “The point is, he would have had 55 bombs. He would have had 55 of something else.”
Trump then shifted to offense in the exchange, arguing that arming law-abiding Americans for self-defense outweighs passing more laws that would ultimately render law-abiding Americans defenseless. He stressed again his believe that criminals and terrorists would think twice before attacking if they knew there would be “bullets going in the opposite direction.” In other words, attackers may find another target if they know their first choice is capable of shooting back.
Trump made similar pro-Second Amendment arguments throughout his campaign for the presidency. For example, on January 10, 2016, Trump highlighted the importance of an armed citizenry on Meet the Press after referencing the November 13, 2015, Paris attack and the December 2, 2105, San Bernardino attack:
If in Paris or if in California recently, where the fourteen people were killed and probably others to follow–in terms of that group because you have some people who are very, very badly wounded–if in Paris they had guns or if in California [they had guns,] on the other side, where the bullets go both ways, not just in one direction. You wouldn’t have had the kind of carnage that you had.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange