When the polls closed last night, it was clear that Donald J. Trump had defied a biased national media, megalomaniacal billionaires, third-party challengers, self-righteous celebrities and even recalcitrant members of his own party to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Commentators and pundits (the majority of whom donated to Hillary) groped for an explanation: They faulted non-college-educated white males and blamed hate, anger, racism, fascism and/or xenophobia. However, none mentioned that Hillary had been the first major party candidate in recent memory to run on gun control.
Only NBC’s Chuck Todd gave the National Rifle Association any credit for Trump’s performance: “Donald Trump didn’t get a lot of help from major Republican institutions, but he did from the NRA and they came through big. This is a big night for the NRA … they just bought a Supreme Court seat.”
To the 5 million members of the NRA, thank you for striking a stunning, lasting blow for freedom.
