Why Donald Trump seeks to court gun-owning voters

A “showcase over 14 acres of the latest guns and gear” is how the National Rifle Association (NRA) described its annual convention, which ends on Sunday. The gathering in Houston has been a magnet for protest and consternation, with the NRA ignoring calls for the event to be postponed in the wake of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde – about 300 miles (a four-hour drive) away.

That wasn’t a problem for Donald Trump, who spoke at the event on Friday and trotted out the same lines as he has during several other appearances. “We know that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he said at the 2019 NRA conference in Indianapolis – having suggested at points during his presidency that his administration would be looking into expanded background checks, without this idea ever going anywhere. On Friday, Trump said: “As the age-old saying goes: the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun... Have you ever heard that?”

Trump wasn’t the only Republican to speak over the weekend. Texas senator Ted Cruz did, too, although a number of others scaled back their involvement or cancelled. But what did Trump have to gain from the appearance? The simple answer is a national stage, and the accompanying media coverage. But the longer answer ties into the issue of gun ownership and votes.