Wisconsin U.S. Senate race: Tammy Baldwin encouraged by Donald Trump tweet on gun control measures

MADISON - Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said Thursday she was encouraged by President Donald Trump tweeting his support for stricter gun control measures and urged him to get Republican leaders in Congress to act.

“We know that we need change,” Baldwin said during a luncheon presented by WisPolitics.com. “And it’s frustrating because there is a high level of consensus across America on the sort of common sense safety measures that need to be brought up and passed.”

Baldwin said House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell control what legislation gets to the floor.

Baldwin said Trump’s tweets are usually a “sound of alarm,” but in this case, she said Trump “opened the door for background checks, for re-examining the age you can purchase a semiautomatic weapon” and for banning gun bump stocks, which allow rifles to fire rapidly.

A bump stock was used by the shooter in the Las Vegas mass slaying.

Baldwin saluted students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and their push for a re-examination of the nation’s gun laws in the wake of last week’s mass shooting.

“Whenever you can turn a tragedy into hope, that is a powerful thing,” she said.

Asked about a proposal to train and arm teachers and coaches at schools, Baldwin said: “I do not think arming our schools, arming our teachers make any sense at all. I strongly oppose that.”

One of Baldwin's two GOP rivals, state Sen. Leah Vukmir of Brookfield, attended the session. Vukmir said she was "open to changes on background checks, especially as it relates to people with mental illnesses," and said the ATF was looking at bump stocks.

Vukmir said she did not support "the changing of the age" to purchase weapons.

Baldwin is running for a second term this fall. Vukmir and Delafield businessman Kevin Nicholson are running for the Republican Party nomination.

During the session, Vukmir asked Baldwin why she voted against Trump's tax cut plan. Vukmir said that middle-class workers are feeling the positive effects of the cuts.

Baldwin said 83% of the benefits of the tax cuts go to "wealthy corporations and the top 1%" and that the measure "rewards wealth over hard work."

She also pointed to Kimberly-Clark Corp., which has benefited from the tax legislation but has also announced a plan to close locations in Neenah and Fox Crossing.

Baldwin said she agrees with Trump on three issues: a push to buy American products and materials and hire American workers; getting rid of the carried-interest loophole that benefits hedge fund managers; and renegotiating NAFTA.

She also said she has met some voters in the state who support both her and Trump.