NRA scrambles to play down 'embarrassing' Trump snub: report

The National Rifle Association has issued a statement attempting to explain why President Donald Trump will not attend the latest convention organized by the group.

NRA Director of Public Affairs Justin Davis said Trump's absence at the convention this weekend does not reflect a decline in the group's influence, despite some political analysts reading the snub as such. Davis 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’s incredibly helpful in everything we’re trying to do here, but we understand that he has very important things to do as well." Davis went on to say that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, would be at the convention. Davis said this meant the "administration will be here with us."

But gun control organization GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown, speaking to The Hill, believes that Trump's "embarrassing" snub highlights the collapse of the NRA's influence on the Republican Party and its politics.

She said, "It really represents the radical decline in influence that we’ve seen from the NRA in the last five to 10 years. They are hemorrhaging money. They are certainly hemorrhaging political support.

"It is very unusual for a sitting Republican president to skip the NRA convention, and Trump is now skipping it for the second time in two years. So the NRA doing their very best to cozy up to this administration is certainly not doing them any favors."

Davis argued that current CEO Doug Hamlin is "laser-focused on making sure the NRA gets back on track" after The Hill highlighted the massive decrease in political spending between Trump's two presidential campaigns.

The NRA issued a $54 million spend on Trump's 2016 campaign and a mere $10 million in 2024.

"So it's going to take time," Davis said. "It’s our job to prove it to members and our folks who were upset with the wrongdoings of certain individuals, to show them those folks are gone and that there’s good actors taking care of their beloved organization now."