During his Dallas, Texas, speech at CPAC 2021, former President Donald Trump warned Democrats are using the surge in crime as an opportunity to push more gun control.

He noted Democrats pushed to “defund the police” and disaster followed as crime and violence raged.

Trump said, “The same far-left Democrats who are defunding police are also leading an all-out crusade to strip you, the law-abiding citizens of America, of your God-given Second Amendment rights.”

He added, “I preserved that right 100 percent. And you think that was easy? It wasn’t easy. There was so much pressure. Republicans must never waver in demanding that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

As Trump spoke of the Democrats’ efforts to disarm Americans he said, “I told you, I told you.” This is the same message he shared with thousands of Americans who attended his June 26, 2021, Wellington, Ohio, rally, where he said, “If you remember, when I was campaigning against Joe Biden I said, ‘They are going to take away your guns’ and ‘Your Second Amendment is under siege.’”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkinsa 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 at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.