There are many things you absolutely cannot do as a Republican, but coming out against the Second Amendment has to be right at the top of the list. For decades, the GOP has made defending Americans’ right to bear arms one of its core principles, standing firm even in the face of outcry over multiple mass shootings.
But we’re now in uncharted waters, as Donald Trump has taken a firm stance against Americans’ right to concealed carry, indicating that he sees a citizen bearing arms as “bad stuff”.
This was, of course, in relation to the murder of Alex Pretti by ICE thugs over the weekend. Pretti, an ICU nurse who devoted his career to caring for veterans and who was shot in the back while helping up a woman who’d been pepper-sprayed, was carrying a gun at the time he was arrested.
Footage from the incident apparently shows the ICE agents freaking out when they realize this, proceeding to disarm him and then instantly pump him full of lead. For the millionth time, it’s worth underlining that Pretti was legally carrying a firearm as was his constitutional right. Trump disagrees:
Trump escalates his attacks on the Second Amendment:
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 27, 2026
“He certainly shouldn't have been carrying a gun. I don't like that he had a gun. I don't like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That's a lot of bad stuff.”
pic.twitter.com/MTuyMUPWGN
“He certainly shouldn’t have been carrying a gun. But all of… Hey look. Bottom line. Everybody in this room, we view that as a very unfortunate incident okay? Everyone. Unless you’re.. you’re a stupid person. Uh, very very unfortunate incident. I don’t like that he had a gun. I don’t like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That’s a lot of bad stuff.”
It should be fairly clear why Trump doesn’t like you being armed
So there you have it. Perhaps the strongest anti-firearms statement made by an American president in our lifetimes. Now we’re in the bizarre and unexpected position of the NRA taking the fight to Trump, who accuse him and other Republicans of “making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.”
It should be obvious to anyone with a brain why Trump and his cronies suddenly have cold feet about citizens owning guns. All appearances suggest they’re ready and willing to drag the United States into a repressive authoritarian regime, with the people kept firmly in place by a highly armed and armored paramilitary.
The last thing they want is civilians carrying guns! You could use them to overthrow them! The irony here is, of course, delicious. Conservatives have forever been beating the drum that gun ownership is critical to fighting back against a tyrannical government. But they thought it’d be the left they’d be fighting, not their own.
Remember all those screeches that Obama and Biden were coming for your guns? Well, they didn’t. Trump might be.
Published: Jan 29, 2026 07:06 am