yeah, because background checks are as popular as anything gets in american public opinion. there is connistent polling showing over 90% of the public believes everyone who buys a gun, no matter where they buy it, should have to undergo a background checks and that includes roughly 90% of republicans and roughly 90% of gun owners but the problem isn t the public sentiment but it is the institutional hold of the nra on the republican party particularly in more rural small states. if you go back to 2013 when there was the vote in the senate on universal background checks after the school shootings in connecticut, the senator you assign half of the state population to each senator and the senators who voted for it represented 195 million people and the senators who voted against it represented 120 million people. that is about as decisive as it gets in a democracy and yet it was blocked because of the of the roll of the filibuster and the near universal republican opposition. that i
signals on on thursday he s open for legislation. the key is making a law and not making a point. reporter: but his office is making clear he s endorsed nothing yet. this isn t a question of nra, republican or democrat. reporter: the president said he s confident he can persuade the gun lobby. i had a good talk with wayne reporter: sources tell cnn nra chief wayne la pierre warned trump his base isn t on board with tougher background checks. i think in the end wayne and the nra will either be there or maybe will be a little bit more neutral. reporter: and after the shooting in parkland, florida, it was the gun lobby that swayed the president. asked why the country should believe him now, trump denied changing his mind. no, no, i never said what i m saying now. reporter: asked what his message is for the children returning to school who fear mass shootings, trump said they have nothing to worry about. go and really study hard and
not a question of whether mitch mcconnell has to make people cast an unpopular vote it is a vote they are inwilling to cast because the institutional influence of the nra separate from gun owners within the republican party. but there is a recent example of the president leading the way on a bipartisan issue. criminal justice reform he got it done when mitch didn t think they could get the votes so that could be where this goes as well. we ll see about that. stand by, everybody. we have lots more to talk about. we ll take a quick break and we ll be right back in just a moment.
reforms. and the question-and-answer session as he left the white house, he touted the possibility of a deal on what he calls, quote, very meaningful background checks and predicted the national rifle association will come around or in his words be a little bit more neutral. the group is signaling it is against the current proposal to expand background checks or enact red flag laws. i ll discuss gun reforms and more with congresswoman jackie speier of california and our correspondents and analysts have full coverage of the top stories. beginning with breaking news in el paso. our brian todd has been there all week. brian, what are you learning? reporter: jim, we ve been working sources here on the ground all day talking to the manager of this walmart. digging up records on what the suspect has said while in custody. tonight we have new details on who the shooter said he was targeting and a new account, dramatic new account of the chaos at in store. tonight cnn has obtained an arrest
reform telling reporters he sees strong support from very meaningful background checks but are mitch mcconnell and the national rifle association on board and will anything get done? and america on edge. from a motorcycle backfiring in times square to an armed man wearing body armor at a missouri walmart, anything is setting off alarms and even panic and the country returning to normal. wolf blitzer is off and i m jim acosta and you re in the situation room. announcer: this is cnn breaking news. and breaking news in the el paso mass shooting investigation, the arrest affidavit of the suspected gunman quotes him as saying he was targeting mexicans. the affidavit also said when he surrendered to police the suspect told them, quote, i m the shooter. this comes as president trump said he has spoken with congressional leaders and sees bipartisan support for gun law