--- title: Trump Pledges to Un-Sign Arms Trade Treaty at NRA Convention description: President Donald Trump told gun rights activists at the NRA's annual convention that he will pull the U.S. from an arms trade treaty canonical: https://time.com/5578963/donald-trump-arms-trade-treaty/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-04-26T20:18:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T11:56:57.929Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Makes a Show of Un-Signing Arms Trade Treaty at NRA Convention og:description: The practical effect of the decision is nil og:url: https://time.com/5578963/donald-trump-arms-trade-treaty/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ddca1ed13961578/69894919929fad5c8bbf31e9/trump-nra-speech-arms-trade-treaty.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US President Donald Trump arrives to speak during the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting on April 26, 2019, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Makes a Show of Un-Signing Arms Trade Treaty at NRA Convention twitter:description: The practical effect of the decision is nil twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ddca1ed13961578/69894919929fad5c8bbf31e9/trump-nra-speech-arms-trade-treaty.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Makes a Show of Un-Signing Arms Trade Treaty at NRA Convention > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Apr 26, 2019 8:18 PM UTC  US President Donald Trump arrives to speak during the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting on April 26, 2019, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Trump announced the decision to withdraw the U.S. support from the Arms Trade Treaty regulating the global arms trade. US President Donald Trump arrives to speak during the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting on April 26, 2019, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Trump announced the decision to withdraw the U.S. support from the Arms Trade Treaty regulating the global arms trade. Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Apr 26, 2019 8:18 PM UTC With Democrats in Congress reluctant to work with him on legislative proposals, President Donald Trump has been casting about for actions he can take on his own. When it comes to guns, he has [long promised](https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/subjects/guns/) to do nothing that would restrict the rights of gun owners. But doing nothing isn’t very photogenic for a showman like Trump. So on Friday, in front of the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Indianapolis, the President made a big show of undoing something. In a nearly hourlong speech, he announced he was [pulling the U.S. from the Arms Trade Treaty](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-nra-square-off-over-small-arms-treaty/2013/03/16/ae495dae-8d76-11e2-b63f-f53fb9f2fcb4%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.869fadb5b365) and instructing Congress to stop the ratification process and “return the treaty back to me in the Oval Office where I will dispose of it.” The treaty is designed to limit international sales of conventional arms to prevent weapons from getting into the hands of human rights abusers. In part under pressure from the NRA, Congress had long stalled the Senate on its consideration of the treaty. Trump’s action on Friday brought it to a complete halt but had no immediate practical effect. Trump called the Obama Administration’s decision to commit to the treaty “badly misguided” and framed his step back as protecting American sovereignty and protecting gun rights. “Under my Administration we will never surrender our American sovereignty to anyone,” Trump said. “We will never allow foreign bureaucrats to trample on your Second Amendment freedoms. We will never ratify the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. I hope you’re happy.” The crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis stood and applauded. The reaction seemed to surprise Trump, who apparently had thought the crowd might see the action as obscure. “I’m impressed. I didn’t know too many of you would know that that is,” Trump said, seeming to both compliment and insult the audience at once. A chant of “U.S.A” rose to a crescendo as Trump held up the pen he just used to sign a message asking the Senate to discontinue the treaty ratification process. “They all want the pen. Should I give it to them?” Trump said, and he tossed the pen into the audience. Trump relishes moments when he can sign something. But Trump’s aides are struggling to gain traction on substantive legislative proposals that could show him getting things done as his term pushes deeper into its second half. White House officials are working to convince House Democrats to take up [Trump’s replacement to the North American Free Trade Agreement](http://time.com/5411444/nafta-trump-deal-usmca/), and plan a public relations push in the next few months in rural states to make the case the agreement with Mexico will help the U.S. agriculture industry. Officials are also working to help move forward several bills in the Senate designed to lower prescription drug prices. In addition, there are preliminary talks about moving forward with plans to fund new highways, bridges and other pieces of U.S. infrastructure, but White House officials believe Democrats are reluctant to give Trump a political victory as the 2020 campaign approaches. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5578963/donald-trump-arms-trade-treaty/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5578963/donald-trump-arms-trade-treaty/"},"headline":"Trump Makes a Show of Un-Signing Arms Trade Treaty at NRA Convention","datePublished":"2019-04-26T20:18:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:56:57.929Z","description":"President Donald Trump told gun rights activists at the NRA's annual convention that he will pull the U.S. from an arms trade treaty","url":"https://time.com/5578963/donald-trump-arms-trade-treaty/","keywords":["Donald Trump","Foreign Policy","Gun Control","United Nations","NRA","gun rights"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ddca1ed13961578/69894919929fad5c8bbf31e9/trump-nra-speech-arms-trade-treaty.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brian Bennett","jobTitle":"Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ddca1ed13961578/69894919929fad5c8bbf31e9/trump-nra-speech-arms-trade-treaty.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US President Donald Trump arrives to speak during the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting on April 26, 2019, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.","caption":"President Trump announced to the NRA the decision to withdraw the U.S. support from the Arms Trade Treaty regulating the global arms trade.","creditText":"Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5578963/donald-trump-arms-trade-treaty/","name":"Trump Makes a Show of Un-Signing Arms Trade Treaty at NRA Convention"}}]}] ```