Biden campaign uses fear mongering to say a Trump presidency would mean gun violence gets worse

In a memo shared first with The Hill titled “Trump’s America in 2025: More Guns, More Shootings, More Deaths,” the Biden campaign cited Trump’s past comments to argue the Republican front-runner would allow more firearms in schools and push for a national concealed carry law. 

“A Donald Trump presidency will mean more guns in schools and more guns in the hands of criminals, all because he thinks being pro-gun makes him look tough,” Biden campaign spokesperson Seth Schuster said in a statement. “But his refusal to stand up to the gun lobby to protect our kids makes him weak and a coward.” 

“We simply cannot allow his extreme agenda in the White House that will cost more American lives,” Schuster added.

The memo is part of a concerted effort by the Biden campaign to highlight the potential consequences of another Trump presidency. Past releases have covered abortion, immigration and threats to democracy.

Biden has for years pushed for tougher gun laws, having championed an assault weapons ban while he was in the Senate and serving as the Obama administration’s point person to develop potential solutions after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. 

Biden in 2022 signed bipartisan legislation that enhanced background checks for gun purchasers between the age of 18 and 21, made obtaining firearms through straw purchases or trafficking a federal offense and clarified the definition of a federally licensed firearm dealer, among other measures.

Despite that, mass shootings have been a persistent problem during Biden’s presidency. Most recently, Biden traveled to Lewiston, Maine, earlier this month after a gunman killed 18 people in two separate locations there.

In a speech at an annual NRA meeting earlier this year, Trump vowed to protect the Second Amendment and argued the rise in school shootings was a result of widespread mental health problems in the country. 

He said if elected, he would support putting more guns in schools to protect them from future shootings, proposing a new tax credit to reimburse any teacher for the cost of a concealed carry firearm and training from a qualified expert.

Trump also said he would ask Congress to pass a bill to create “national concealed carry reciprocity.”