Trump NRA snub fuels questions about key GOP ally’s influence

President Trump is skipping the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual convention this weekend, his second snub in as many years of an organization long seen as a key political ally for Republicans.

The move marks his second consecutive absence from the NRA’s annual meeting — held this year on April 16-19 in Houston, Texas — after attending every convention since 2015.

While the prominent gun rights group has largely brushed off Trump’s decision to skip the event as a scheduling issue, some critics say it underscores the NRA’s waning influence in Washington after years of financial and legal turmoil.

NRA Director of Public Affairs Justin Davis said in a Thursday interview that he’s “not at all” concerned that Trump’s absence reflects the group’s declining influence in GOP politics.

“The president is obviously incredibly busy with worldwide affairs right now, and we’re incredibly close to the administration. We work hand-in-glove with them on all kinds of two-way issues,” Davis said, calling the president an “incredible ally” of the NRA.

“He’s incredibly helpful in everything we’re trying to do here, but we understand that he has very important things to do as well,” he added.

Davis said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, will be speaking at the convention, adding, “So the administration will be here with us.”

The Justice Department did not respond to The Hill’s request for........

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