For nearly a decade, Donald Trump has wrapped himself in the Second Amendment like a campaign accessory. From NRA conventions to rally stages, he sold himself as the ultimate defender of gun rights. But guess who wants to take away your guns now?
Trump has always sold the promise to his MAGA base that their right to carry firearms would never be infringed. He routinely told gun owners he alone stood between them and confiscation. In fact, he warned of Democrats “coming for your guns,” and pledged unwavering loyalty to the NRA. But Trump has pulled a complete 180 after Alex Pretti’s murder.
Trump’s recent statement following the killing of Alex Pretti has landed like a quiet ideological car crash. When reporters asked him about the incident, Trump dismissed the legality of Pretti’s firearm. In a step further, he bluntly declared that “you can’t have guns” and “you can’t walk in with guns.” No nuance or caveats. Just prohibition language.
Alex Pretti was legally carrying a gun
The problem for Trump isn’t just rhetorical sloppiness. It’s that Alex Pretti was legally carrying under Minnesota law. He was not committing a crime by being armed. For years, Trump’s movement insisted that legality was the only thing that mattered. But suddenly, he wants to destroy that legality itself.
A peaceful public carry of firearms is protected under the Second Amendment. And the same political ecosystem Trump has depended on since 2016 championed the law. Yet, the outrage among his base was remarkably muted. The same voices that scream “shall not be infringed” at the mention of gun reform barely stirred when Trump himself suggested that Americans shouldn’t be allowed to carry firearms in public spaces.
The principle didn’t change. The speaker did. And this isn’t even Trump’s first contradiction on guns. Long before MAGA, he supported waiting periods and assault-weapon restrictions. But once he realized that gun absolutism was politically useful, he embraced a maximalist rhetoric. That is, until it became inconvenient again.
Trump proves he never cared about the Second Amendment, and neither did MAGA
The Pretti case has again exposed that the Second Amendment isn’t a principle in Trump’s movement. It’s a loyalty test. When Trump defended guns, it was sacred. When he dismissed them, silence followed. If any Democratic president had uttered the words “you can’t walk with guns,” Republicans would be warning of dictatorship. But when Trump said it, the so-called constitutional purists have quietly put finger on their lips.
Trump’s Second Amendment obsession was never about gun rights. It was about power. And even the loudest “freedom” crowd suddenly forgot what it claimed to believe when Trump exposed his own hypocrisy. The MAGA truly just worships Trump. They have no principles.
Published: Jan 28, 2026 11:01 am