Trump re-enacts France terror attack with shooting gesture as he tells NRA convention he will pull US out of UN Arms Trade Treaty
Donald Trump has re-enacted the Paris terror attacks in front of a group of gun owners and lovers during a speech to the National Rifle Association, where he also signalled his intention to deliver a major policy victory to the pro-gun group.
During his wide ranging speech, Mr Trump claimed that the 2015 terror attack in the French capital was so deadly because of the country’s very strict gun control laws. He said that if “there was one gun being carried by one person on the other side, it very well could've been a whole different result.”
Then, the president continued to re-enact the massacre, using his hands to imitate gun fire: “Get over here! Boom. Get over here! Boom. And then they left.”
Mr Trump’s pantomiming of a massacre that left 130 victims dead and more than 350 injured was accompanied by his declaration that he would pull his signature from the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty — a global agreement intended to prevent illicit arms sales.
The president cited concerns raised by conservative groups in opposition to the treaty, saying that the international agreement between roughly 100 countries would potentially subject US gun owners to internationally drafted rules.
“We will never allow foreign bureaucrats to trample on your Second Amendment freedom,” Mr Trump said during his speech to the NRA in Indianapolis. “I’m officially announcing today that the United States will be revoking the effect of America’s signature from this badly misguided treaty.”
Gun control advocates quickly pushed back on the president’s decision to pull the US out of that treaty, which was singed by President Barack Obama but never ratified by Congress.
Kris Brown, the president of the Brady Campaign, said that the president’s decision illustrated Mr Trump’s eagerness to “pander” to the NRA, and that the decision would “embolden terrorists”.
“Today, President Trump chose to pander to the corporate gun lobby and shirk his responsibility to his country and the world. We should be doing everything in our power to stop gun violence, not export it,” Mr Brown said.
He continued: “By denouncing the treaty today, President Trump will only embolden terrorists and other dangerous actors around the world. This is a dangerous, reckless move that will endanger countless Americans and other innocent people worldwide.“
