Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) says President Trump can “Make America Safe Again” through the passage of gun control.

LocalDVM reports Manchin is suggesting Republicans in the House and Senate are considering support for gun control but cannot risk it politically unless Trump shields them from the political fallout.

Manchin said, “These are things that everybody is looking at, democrats and republicans, but I repeat, if the president wants to make America safe again, he has to be the person standing up giving the republican colleagues the cover and courage to do what’s right.”

Manchin and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) are currently pushing their universal background checks, the same bill that failed to pass a Democrat-controlled Senate in 2013.

WVMetroNews reports Manchin’s belief that the gun control failed in 2013 because Barack Obama was president and people were afraid to give him expanded power over guns. Manchin believes more Republicans will be willing to back the gun control now that a pro-Second Amendment president is in office.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.