During early morning election coverage on November 9, NBC’s Chuck Todd described Donald Trump’s victory as a big win for the NRA that portends a Supreme Court justice who will defend the Second Amendment.
In the middle of a back-and-forth discussion with fellow panelists, Todd said:
By the way, Trump got a big assist here, too…Donald Trump didn’t get a lot of help from major Republican institutions, but he did from the NRA and they came through big. This is a big night for the NRA.
He explained his comments by pointing to the ties that bind Trump and the NRA and suggested the NRA’s ad buys for Trump effectively “bought a Supreme Court justice.”
Although Todd’s comments about buying a Supreme Court justice are a gross mischaracterization–the amount of money raised by the Hillary Clinton campaign was unmatched and unprecedented–it is true that Trump’s win signals an administration that will stand with NRA, as the NRA stands with Trump. And yes, it does mean Trump will be able to nominate the justice who will fill Antonin Scalia’s vacancy, thereby preserving District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and the Second Amendment.
The Hill also recognized that Trump’s win is an NRA win, saying:
The gun rights group endorsed Trump back in May, with its executive director suggesting that members of the association who wanted someone else other than Trump to be GOP nominee ought to “get over it.” In the early hours of Wednesday, as Trump’s victory was confirmed, the group issued a statement asserting that voters had “sent a loud and clear message that our gun rights are not for sale.”
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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