President Trump’s decision not to attend the NRA’s 2026 Annual Meetings is bringing the group’s influence into question.
The NRA’s Annual Meetings are currently underway in Houston, Texas.
The Hill reported that Trump “[skipped the NRA’s] annual convention this weekend, his second snub in as many years of an organization long seen as a key political ally for Republicans.”
NRA director of public affairs Justin Davis spoke on Trump’s absence, claiming the organization was not concerned by it. He said, “The president is obviously incredibly busy with worldwide affairs right now, and we’re incredibly close to the administration. We work hand-in-glove with them on all kinds of two-way issues.”
He added, “[The President is] incredibly helpful in everything we’re trying to do here, but we understand that he has very important things to do as well.”
Gabby Giffords’ gun control group, Giffords, observed, “NRA says that Trump is skipping the NRA Annual Meeting next weekend because he has a ‘lot going on.’ Funny… he found time to go to a UFC fight last weekend.”
The Houston Chronicle noted that this is the second year in a row that Trump has not attended the NRA gathering.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News 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 and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.