Donald Trump’s recent visit to South Carolina is making the rounds on the internet as he poses with a Glock 19 handgun. The former President visited Palmetto State Armory on Monday, accompanied by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and SC Attorney General Alan Wilson.
In a now-deleted video posted to Twitter Trump is heard admiring the weapon, stating in classic fashion “I’m going to buy one. I want to buy one. Isn’t Glock a great gun?” The video was originally uploaded by Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung. In his original post, Cheung claimed Trump purchased the gun but then later walked back his claim.
Federal law prevents any individual under indictment from purchasing firearms. Given the oncoming train of 91 federal indictments levied against him, Trump most likely did not attempt to purchase the Glock. If he had, federal law would have required him to fill out an ATF form in which the signatory attests that he or she is not under any federal indictment.
The customized Glock 19 handgun, emblazoned with the ex-Presidents face on the handle and “Trump 45” on the barrel, retails for $749.99 on the Palmetto State Armory website. If you have yet to come across a gun retailer’s website, it merits a visit.
Predictably, Trump’s visit went viral and the image was shared thousands of times across social media. Conflict breeds engagement and as we approach the 2024 elections gun violence and the Second Amendment remain polarized topics across party lines. As evidenced by the Pew Research Center, however, trends among younger voters are emerging that show a growing and slightly more bipartisan concern for the state of gun violence in America.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, in 2023 there have been 519 mass shootings and 31,864 deaths caused by firearms across the country.
Last Friday, just three days before Trump visited the gun retailer and posed with the handgun, President Biden established the White House Office of Gun Violence. In his own words, Biden sought “to send a clear message about how important this issue is to me and to the country.” While specific policy positions have yet to be disclosed the revitalized attention to gun violence seeks to quell Democratic voter angst at the insofar unsuccessful party attempts to pass federal assault weapon bans and other protective legislation.
