Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urges Trump to go 'with his instincts' on guns and not the 'destructive' NRA

The President announced his support earlier this week for measures opposed by the National Rifle Association

Chuck Schumer wants the President to stand by his words on gun law reform (Getty)

The Senate’s top Democrat has urged Donald Trump to follow his instinct and help push through gun control measures after the National Rifle Association (NRA) suggested that the President did not actually want gun control.

Democratic members of Congress and the powerful gun-rights organisation are competing for the President’s support on controversial gun issues that have once again become a national talking point in the wake of a mass shooting in Florida last month.

“President Trump should go with his instincts, not the clarion and destructive call of the NRA,” Mr Schumer said in a statement. “He knows instinctively that this is the right thing to do both substantively, because it will save tens of thousands of lives, and politically, because over three quarters of the American people support it.”

It is unusual for any Democrat to call on the impulsive President to follow his instincts, with the party often lamenting the fact that he issues statements on events – usually via Twitter - seemingly without much forethought. Mr Schumer’s statement came as the White House looked to back away from comments Mr Trump made earlier this week backing the type of changes to gun laws that many Republicans have staunchly opposed.

Mr Trump had stunned members of Congress during a meeting at the White House this week by supporting measures opposed by the NRA. In that meeting, Mr Trump called for a “comprehensive” bill with the aim of expanding background checks to firearms purchased at gun shows and on the internet. He also suggested that he would support measures to allow the authorities, without first following due process, to seize guns from mentally ill people or those who could pose a threat. “I like taking the guns early,” he said. “Take the guns first, go through due process second.”

Additionally, the President appeared ready to go up against the NRA over his support for a proposal to raise the minimum age for purchasing assault-style weapons from 18 to 21.

“[The NRA] has great power,” Mr Trump said. “They have great power over you people. They have less power over me. I don’t need it. What do I need? But I’ll tell you, they are well-meaning ... We have to do what is right.”

The NRA, which spent at least $30m to help elect Mr Trump, has called the bulk of the proposals discussed at the White House with members of Congress this week “bad policy” that would not keep people safe. On Thursday, one of the NRA’s top lobbyists, Chris Cox, posted on Twitter that he met with Mr Trump and Vice President Mike Pence that evening, saying that “we all want safe schools, mental health reform and to keep guns away from dangerous people. POTUS & VPOTUS support the Second Amendment, support strong due process and don’t want gun control.”

Mr Trump tweeted roughly an hour later about the unannounced meeting: “Good (Great) meeting in the Oval Office tonight with the NRA!” the President said.

On Friday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Mr Trump’s thinking on guns had always been consistent. Asked if Trump had made any specific promises to the NRA during the Thursday meeting, Ms Sanders said: “Only that he’ll continue to support the Second Amendment.”

She added that protecting the constitutional right to bear arms was “not something that he had backed away from”.

She added that the President wanted to strengthen background checks, but did not commit to universal background checks. She also said that while Mr Trump “conceptually” supports raising the minimum age to purchase certain weapons, but that “he also knows there’s not a lot of broad support for that”.

The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida that left 17 people dead on Valentine’s Day has led to an apparent shift in public opinion towards wanting gun control that Mr Trump wants to follow. Student survivors of the attack have led protests and demanded legislators restrict gun sales in actions that have captured the public imagination. They have also sought to hone in on NRA-funded politicians and threatened to vote them out if they do not take action to restrict the availability of certain types of weapons at least.

Instances of gun violence continue across the country, as the debate rages over action to take. On Friday morning, at least two people were shot dead in what authorities said was a domestic issue at Central Michigan University. The two victims, who were not students, were found inside the residence hall at the university, located northwest of Detroit.

Despite the mass mobilisation of students, parents and companies against guns, Congress is still struggling to garner enough support to pass even the narrowest of gun control bills that would fix the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Drafting a comprehensive bill, like what Mr Trump has called for, is likely to hamper any ability to get enough votes to actually pass the measure in both the Senate and House of Representatives.