The word of the President of the United States means nothing. This was, for a while, a difficult phenomenon to come to terms with. It seemed to be a void at the center of the body politic. Now we all know not to stray within the event horizon. It wasn't long ago that Donald Trump declared his intention to meet Democrats halfway on a DACA fix to help kids brought here as children by undocumented immigrants to find a pathway to citizenship. That is, until he got out of the meeting, saw the coverage in the conservative infotainment bubble, and promptly abandoned any compromise entirely.

Now, the president is following his Brick Tamland moment on gun control to the appropriate conclusion: hopping back to the other side like nothing happened, because in his business genius brain, nothing really did. As The New York Times highlighted, Trump embraced a number of common sense gun reforms favored by Democrats and a majority of Americans in a televised meeting. He even backed a more extreme measure to seize guns from at-risk individuals without "due process."

In that meeting, Mr. Trump called for comprehensive legislation that would, among other things, expand background checks to firearms purchased at gun shows and on the internet — a measure favored by Democrats but anathema to the N.R.A.

He also stunned lawmakers from both parties by suggesting that he would support measures to allow the authorities to seize guns from mentally ill people or those who could pose a danger without first following due process, like appearing before a judge. “I like taking the guns early,” he said, adding, “Take the guns first, go through due process second.”

But all that changed in less than 24 hours. The NRA cavalry went riding into the Oval Office to remind President Business Deals that they own him, just like they own every Republican in Congress.

The top lobbyist for the National Rifle Association claimed late Thursday that President Trump had retreated from his surprising support a day earlier for gun control measures after a meeting with N.R.A. officials and Vice President Mike Pence in the Oval Office.

The lobbyist, Chris Cox, posted on Twitter just after 9 p.m. that he met with Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence, saying that “we all want safe schools, mental health reform and to keep guns away from dangerous people. POTUS & VPOTUS support the Second Amendment, support strong due process and don’t want gun control. #NRA #MAGA.” Mr. Trump tweeted about an hour later, “Good (Great) meeting in the Oval Office tonight with the NRA!”

You can pair that with guaranteed inaction on Capitol Hill, where Mitch McConnell has declared his intention to respond to a groundswell of support for tighter controls on who has access to deadly weapons of war following a horrific mass murder event by...bringing a banking bill to the floor.

A modest bill to encourage states to better report to the national background check database, sponsored by Republican John Cornyn of Texas—the number two in the chamber—is unable to gain fast-track status. For that, it would need unanimous consent, but Senator Mike Lee of Utah has signaled his intent to block it. It also faces opposition from Democrats, who feel it is too modest now that public demand for more stringent policies is at a level not seen in years.

Senate Democrats have proposed a multi-pronged approach:

expanding background checks

banning assault weapons

allowing protective orders to temporarily seize guns from people who show signs of being a danger to society

All of these are probably dead in the water, because every Republican is more afraid of the NRA than anything—including seeing news of more dead kids on their TV screen. If you need proof of that, look at Georgia, where the legislature just passed a measure essentially punishing Delta Airlines for ending a rewards program aimed at NRA members. The measure could, in an extreme scenario, cause Delta to move its headquarters. Paired with a "religious liberty" law that targets the rights of same-sex couples to adopt, it could rule Atlanta out of the running in the high-stakes race to secure Amazon's second headquarters. Anything to keep the gun lobby off your back.

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

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