President Donald Trump's counselor Kellyanne Conway, during a contentious CNN interview Thursday, pointed out that it was former President Barack Obama's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms that decided not to regulate bump stock devices such as those used in Sunday night's deadly shootings in Las Vegas.
"It's in The New York Times today that it was President Obama's ATV in 2010 that decided not to regulate this device," Conway told CNN "New Day" anchor Chris Cuomo. "That should be part of the conversations and part of the facts that you put [out]."
According to the Times, two Texas companies, the ATF wrote that the product was a "firearm part and is not regulated as a firearm under the Gun Control Act or the National Firearms Act."
Bump stock devices are attached to semi-automatic weapons to allow them to fire shots more rapidly and act as an automatic weapon, which are illegal.
"I want to say something else," said Conway. "If you go and do a search, you will see this conversation is not being held until tragedies like this strike by those trying to be the loudest voices, and Hillary Clinton is talking about her book and not this, and people are still searching for missing loved ones, and she tweeted about guns one time this year. [Sen.] Bernie Sanders, zero times. [Sen.] Elizabeth Warren, zero times. They tweeted about Russia over 30 times, Sanders and Warren."
She then attacked CNN's "obsession with Russia," telling Cuomo that she know the "high-horse cavalry loves to run in and talk about it after the tragedies, but let's have a conversation. The more information we can get the better."
Cuomo argued back, telling Conway he was "tired" and wanted to "apologize in advance, a lot of this doesn't wash."
"All you need to know is it's legal," he told her. "That's all you need to know about it. Of course it was the Obama administration. Don't cheapen what happened in Las Vegas."
Trump, she told Cuomo, is focused on the tragedy and victims, and she accused Cuomo of trying to put "words in his mouth in mine" when he said Trump had wanted to have a "conversation" on the issue.
A number of Republican senators have said they'll look at the issue of bump stocks, while they are for the Second Amendment, she continued.
Trump was "incredibly candid and sympathetic yesterday" while visiting with victims in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Conway also defended Trump's action in Puerto Rico, pointing out there are 15,000 people on the ground helping in the recovery efforts.
Conway also accused CNN of feeling an urgency about Russia and "phony baloney" collusion.
On Fox News' "Fox & Friends," Conway said Trump was "moved" by his visit with victims and first responders in Las Vegas.
"The president and the first lady have been on the ground literally shoulder to shoulder with those who are suffering and in need whether it's Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, and certainly in the Las Vegas community yesterday," said Conway. "I think this is a moment when this president is calling us all to unify."
Conway continued that the Trump people saw in Las Vegas is the person she and others encounter every day, as he is a "very light-hearted and humorous man."
She also defended the relationship between Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, following reports that the secretary had thought about stepping down in July.
"I was really struck yesterday by Secretary Tillerson's forceful and unequivocal push back toward these rumors, and then the president saying that he has quote felt confidence in Rex his secretary of state," she said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.