Trump tells NRA he is their ‘fearless champion’ despite recent mass shootings– live

A former Navy reservist and Proud Boys member who stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, and expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler, was sentenced on Thursday to three years in prison on firearms charges.

Last year it was Uvalde. Now it’s Nashville and Louisville. For the second year in a row, the National Rifle Association is holding its annual convention within days of mass shootings that shook the nation.

The three-day gathering, beginning Friday, will include thousands of the organization’s most active members at Indianapolis’ convention center and is attracting a bevy of top Republican presidential candidates — enough that it could help shape the early part of next year’s GOP primary race.

Donald Trump’s motorcade was met with chants of “New York hates you” after he returned to the city for a deposition in a $250m civil lawsuit alleging fraud by his company and him.

Shweta Sharma has the story.

Michael Cohen has suggested he will file a countersuit against Donald Trump, who he said should have listened to lawyers who told him that doing so would be “a mistake”.

The former president had slapped a $500m lawsuit on Wednesday against his former lawyer Mr Cohen alleging a breach of his attorney-client relationship and unjust enrichment, among other claims.

On Thursday’s Political Breakdown podcast, Mr Cohen weighed in on the lawsuit against him.

Sebastian Miño-Bucheli reports on what he said:

Trump’s team will want to make as much political hay as they can now, with the aim of trying to build up a momentum that would be difficult to stop once the voting for the Republican presidential nominees begins.

“Susan and I have concluded, after much consideration and prayer, that I will not present myself as a candidate to become President of the United States in the 2024 election,” the Republican tweeted on Friday afternoon.

Trump told NRA members that they share a common enemy in New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has filed a civil case against the one-term president.

“The very same raging radical left lunatic attorney general that is coming after me in New York state is also waging war on the NRA, shamefully trying to destroy this legendary organisation that’s been an American institution since 1871,” Mr Trump said.

“I really do believe no one could have defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 other than Donald Trump. But with all the challenges that we’re facing … I truly do believe that different times call for different leadership,” said Mr Trump’s former vice president.

The former president said he would remain a ‘loyal friend and fearless champion’ of the much-maligned group.

The far-right MAGA lawmaker from Georgia has been widely criticised for coming to the defence of Airman Jack Teixeira following his arrest by the FBI in Massachusetts.