 National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre listens to musician Lee Greenwood perform before the arrival of President Donald Trump to the National Rifle Association Leadership Conference,... (Associated Press) 
 
 National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre listens to musician Lee Greenwood perform before the arrival of President Donald Trump to the National Rifle Association Leadership Conference, Friday, April 28, 2017, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) 
 
 ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for gun rights Friday, telling attendees of a National Rifle Association convention that "the eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end." Trump, the first sitting president to address the group's annual convention in more than 30 years, assured the audience that he would defend their right to bear arms in a campaign-like speech reminiscent of his election rallies. "The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end,” Trump told the members of the National Rifle Association, assuring them that they now "have a true friend and champion in the White House." After delivering his NRA remarks, the president headed to a private fundraiser for Republican congressional candidate Karen Handel, who is running in a special congressional race that has become a national referendum on his presidency. "She's totally for the NRA and second amendment, so get out and vote," Trump instructed the estimated crowd. The last president to address an NRA convention was Ronald Reagan, who spoke to the 1983 gathering, according to the powerful gun rights lobby. Trump's appearance in Atlanta sparked protests from people advocating for stricter gun control measures. The GOP-led Congress already passed a resolution to block a rule that would have kept guns out of the hands of certain people with mental disorders, and Trump quickly signed it. During one August campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump raised eyebrows when he suggested that "Second Amendment people" could do something if Clinton were elected and got to pick anti-guns rights Supreme Court justices. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer called the speech to the NRA's leadership forum, which comes on the 99th day of Trump's presidency, a "good way to end an incredible week."
– On Friday—his 99th day in office—President Trump did something no sitting president has done in more than 30 years: He spoke at an NRA conference. "The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end," NBC News quotes Trump as saying Friday in Atlanta. The AP reports Trump, who attended the conference last year as a candidate, became the first sitting president to officially address the NRA since Ronald Reagan. Trump told members they now have a president who's a "true friend and champion" of gun rights. Sean Spicer says the speech was a "good way to end an incredible week." Trump used his speech to the NRA to get involved in a congressional race for the first time since becoming president, stumping for Karen Handel in front of NRA members and then attending a private fundraiser for her afterward. Handel is running to replace Tom Price, who is now Trump's health secretary, in Georgia. The Washington Post reports Trump also took the opportunity to revive a derogatory insult he frequently directed at Elizabeth Warren during his presidential campaign. When musing about the 2020 presidential race, he said "Pocahontas" could be the Democratic nominee, and "she is not big for the NRA." Warren has claimed to be part Native American.