A sustained effort from National Rifle Association officials, Republican lawmakers and conservative allies helped cement President Donald Trump's decision to abandon his previous calls for tougher background checks in the wake of recent mass shootings, sources tell CNN.
Trump held a lengthy phone call with NRA chief Wayne LaPierre on Tuesday, one of several the two men have had since massacres in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, touched off the latest national debate about tougher gun legislation.
In the aftermath of the two shootings, Trump signaled support for strengthening background checks, but has since cooled on the idea, repeating a familiar pattern he's taken in the wake of gun tragedies after news coverage has subsided. A source familiar with the details of Tuesday's call between Trump and LaPierre, first reported by The Atlantic, said the President told the NRA chief that universal background checks are "off the table."
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