Sen. Chris Murphy on Sunday said he thinks President Trump is going to “bob and weave” on the issue of gun control and that Mr. Trump has to lead if Congress is going to pass meaningful legislation on the issue.
“I have a feeling he’s going to continue to bob and weave,” Mr. Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Mr. Murphy said the president is trying to have it both ways, saying Mr. Trump is aware that recent public polling has shown support for stricter gun controls but that he’s trying to keep the National Rifle Association happy as well.
Mr. Trump met with lawmakers last week and talked up expanding gun-purchase background checks, but the White House walked that support back after the president met with the NRA the following day.
Mr. Murphy is co-sponsoring a more modest bill to improve the national instant check system, but he and other Democrats have said that measure alone isn’t a sufficient response to the recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Florida that claimed the lives of 17 people.
“He sort of sent us out of that meeting and said you guys work it out, you know, work the universal background checks in with the Fix NICS bill, the piece of legislation I have with John Cornyn,” Mr. Murphy said. “But as I told him, that can’t happen if he’s not willing to lead.”
“The president has the potential to move mountains here,” he said. “From what I can tell he hasn’t had any kind of conversations with Republicans since that meeting to try to push them to get to an agreement.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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