Trump family grift now extends to guns [View all]

Trump family grift now extends to guns
As the administration rolls back gun safety measures, Donald Trump Jr. is a beneficiary

By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published July 9, 2026 9:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) During Donald Trump’s three presidential campaigns, and throughout his first term in office, he was the darling of the National Rifle Association. On the campaign trail, he would pantomime pulling out a six-gun, telling the crowd he had a concealed carry permit and was willing to use it. Each year, Trump would show up at the NRA’s annual convention to be feted like a god by an ecstatic crowd of jubilant supporters. He even had Lee Greenwood appear with him in 2017 to sing “God Bless the NRA.” There was no organization in America more devoted to him and his political career.

Oddly, Trump hasn’t bothered to show up during his second term. That doesn’t mean his administration is not hard at work delivering the promises he has long made to the NRA. These include, according to the New York Times, “more than three dozen rules” relating to gun safety it is attempting to “eliminate.” These include provisions to “raise the legal threshold for revoking a dealer’s license; extend gun rights to buyers who had faced restrictions because of mental illness or inability to manage their own finances; and end extra scrutiny of stabilizing braces, gun accessories that have been used in mass shootings to lethal effect.” In other words, they have reversed all the progress made under the Biden administration, loosening regulations even more.

Following an executive order signed by Trump in February 2025, the entire government has been deployed to ensure that anyone, no matter who they are or what they’ve done, is entitled to pack heat at all times. The president has instructed the Justice Department to investigate “ongoing infringements of the Second Amendment rights of our citizens,” which, in practice, means they are going after state and local regulations, challenging state bans on semi-automatic weapons and restrictions on the sales of certain handguns. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms no longer has zero-tolerance for criminal gun dealers, who have basically been given immunity if they are caught illegally selling guns. The Department of Veterans Affairs is allowing veterans who have been declared incompetent to handle their own money to purchase firearms. Health and Human Services is no longer tracking gun deaths or properly funding research into prevention. It’s all hands on deck.

....(snip)....

All of this benefits one company in particular: GrabaGun, which sells guns online. The company would like to be able to conduct its own digital background checks and sell directly to buyers, instead of being forced to send their weapons to licensed gun dealers, who then perform the background checks in person. GrabaGun bills itself as the “Amazon of guns.” And who sits on its board, and has a stake in the company? Donald Trump Jr., a well-known gun aficionado who loves to kill endangered species. ....................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/07/09/trump-family-grift-now-extends-to-guns/