President Donald Trump blamed “Dummy Beto” O’Rourke in a tweet on Wednesday for increasing the difficulty of reaching an agreement on gun control legislation.
“Dummy Beto made it much harder to make a deal,” Trump wrote. “Convinced many that Dems just want to take your guns away. Will continue forward!”
The president was apparently referring to O’Rourke’s remarks in Houston at last week’s Democratic debate for a mandatory federal buyback of assault weapons when he said, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47. W e’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans any more,” Politico reported.
Some Democrats have also criticized O’Rourke’s remarks, saying they will backfire and instead of rallying support for meaningful gun control legislation will instead play into the hands of Republicans who want to prevent any restriction on the Second Amendment.
Trump has vacillated in his support for various gun reform measures in the aftermath of several mass shootings over the summer but will apparently not consider a bill passed by the Democratic-controlled House requiring universal background checks for gun purchases.
Trump, however, has been in discussions with members of both parties, as well as his aides, to consider various plans on the issue and is expected to release a package of proposals soon.