President Donald Trump at the 2025 National Rifle Association Annual Meeting in Atlanta
First of a Two-Part Series on the NRA + MAGA
So many people understand guns in America primarily or exclusively in terms of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and politics that I have tried to complement their focus by avoiding these two topics in my work.
However, attending the NRA annual meeting and exhibits (NRAAM), as I did recently, makes such avoidance impossible.
In this Substack, the first of a two-part series, I give readers a visual impression of President Donald Trump’s presence at the 2025 NRAAM in Atlanta, including a video message Trump made for the NRA.
In a following post, I offer my thoughts on why the NRA has to align itself with the Republican Party but not with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement associated with Trump.
As I noted in a previous post about the NRAAM, the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) Leadership Forum was conspicuously absent from this year’s meeting. The absence was especially conspicuous because 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the founding of the NRA-ILA. The political rally was quietly canceled after Donald Trump and others didn’t commit to attending the event. (At the members meeting, NRA President Bob Barr made it seem like Trump couldn’t attend because he was at Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome, but the forum died before the pontiff.)
Personally, I didn’t miss what amounts to a Christo-Republican political rally. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Some of these festivities were taken up at the NRA meeting of members, though, including a sectarian Christian prayer and a well-received video appearance by President Trump.
Beyond this, there were many Trump/MAGA sightings at the NRAAM — though, honestly, fewer than I expected and remembered from previous meetings.
There were, of course, Trump/MAGA AR-15s for sale.
And Trump Glocks.
NRA Cigar Club Trump 45/47 cigars.
A whole booth dedicated to Trump/MAGA clothing and paraphernalia.
Trump and other “provocative” t-shirts.
Full MAGA on media row.
Trump AR-15 charging handles.
Turning Point USA turned out for Trump.
Most of the attendees who donned Trump/MAGA attire blended into the crowd, but some stood out and made me wonder why they weren’t sending their best.
More considered reflections on the NRA and politics forthcoming. Stay tuned!
The smart move that the new Reform NRA block could push would be a quiet distance from MAGA and any other broadly political movements, and maintain that their focus is on rights and training and safety and promotion of the shooting sports. There is however a lot of money to be made pandering to MAGA and without moderation this will continue to push the center and left away. The NRA needs to realize that their continued existence hinges on catering broad appeal. This I see as very doable so long as they don't get greedy (again).
Whether or not the refreshed NRA leadership will play this smart however is still to be seen.