Trump Says There’s ‘No Political Appetite’ For Assault Weapons Ban Despite Poll Contradicting Claim

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump claimed very few American voters support legislation that bans assault weapons, despite a new poll contradicting this assertion.

Trump’s comments to reporters came before he left the White House to visit Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, which were the sites of two distinct mass shootings over the weekend where firearms of this type were used.

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“You could do your own polling,” Trump told reporters. “There’s no political appetite, probably, from the standpoint of legislature.”

A Morning Consult/Politico poll published Wednesday shows there is significant support for banning assault-style weapons, even among Republicans.

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According to the survey, seven in 10 registered voters — including 54% of Republicans and 64% of GOP women — back such a ban. An even larger share support other stricter forms of gun control like prohibiting sales of high-capacity ammunition magazines and imposing three-day waiting periods for bringing firearms home. In total, 85% of Democrats said they back stricter gun regulations.

The Morning Consult/Politico poll was conducted Aug. 5-7 among 1,960 registered voters and has a margin of error of 2 percent.

In the wake of the shootings in El Paso and Dayton, a national conversation about “red flag” laws has reignited. These regulations allow law enforcement to confiscate guns from those who have been deemed dangerous to themselves or others. Many lawmakers, including GOP officials like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), have voiced support for this type of legislation.

Congress had passed a Federal Assault Weapons Ban in 1994 under Bill Clinton but the law expired in 2004. This bill forbade the production of certain types of semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. Since its expiration, assault-style weapons have been utilized in several mass shootings across the nation like the February 2018 massacre at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Several recent polls have also shown roughly 90 percent of voters — and a similar proportion of Republicans — support universal background checks.