Trump says NRA gun lobby has ‘friend’ in White House

The United States’ powerful gun lobby has “a true friend and champion in the White House,” President Donald Trump said Friday in an address to the National Rifle Association.

“As your president, I will never, ever infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms,” Trump told the cheering crowd in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Freedom is not a gift from the government. Freedom is a gift from God.”

The NRA was an early supporter of Trump during his campaign for the White House, and he was speaking to its members on the eve of marking 100 days in office.

“These are dangerous times,” the president warned. “To the NRA, I can proudly say, I will never, ever let you down.”

“The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end,” he vowed.

That referred to a constitutional protection for gun ownership, which predecessor Barack Obama had sought to bring under greater control after a string of mass shootings.