DALLAS - President Donald Trump sought to reassure National Rifle Association members at their 2018 annual meeting Friday that their Second Amendment rights are safe in the midst of a national conversation on gun law reform.
"Thanks to your activism and dedication, you have an administration fighting to protect your Second Amendment and we will protect your Second Amendment," he said. "Your Second Amendment rights are under siege, but they will never ever be under siege as long as I am your president."
Trump also urged the crowd not to become "complacent" heading into the midterm elections as he sought to galvanize the base.
"Don't be complacent. Don't be complacent," Trump urged the crowd. "History says that when you win the presidency, you get complacent. You know the feeling? Like 90% of the time you win the presidency and for whatever reason you lose the midterm. We can't let that happen. And the word is complacent."
"We cannot get complacent," Trump said again.
Still, Trump predicted that Republicans will do well in 2018, arguing "the Democrats are very concerned."
"You watch how well we do in '18, you watch," Trump said.
Russia investigation
Trump lamented the ongoing special counsel investigation into Russian election meddling during his speech and referenced the case against Paul Manafort, while calling attention to a CNN article.
After drawing attention to a CNN report about a federal judge's comments on special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, Trump argued that the investigation is a "witch hunt" and praised his former campaign chairman as a "good person."
Trump quoted comments from a federal judge who suggested on Friday that the special counsel was aiming to hurt Trump by prosecuting Manafort.
