Donald Trump's had plenty to say about last weekend's tragic shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, though there's one name that's remained noticeably absent from his remarks: Sig Sauer. As politicians from both sides of the aisle rushed to offer their "thoughts and prayers" in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in the nation's history, a larger and sadly familiar question emerged: What the hell was a civilian doing with a weapon of that caliber? Though initial reports listed the weapon used in the Orlando shooting as an AR-15, authorities eventually clarified that the shooter's was actually a Sig Sauer MCX.
The presumptive Republican nominee actually knows a thing or two about Sig Sauer, as Mother Jonesreported Wednesday. Both Trump and his sons have toured the Sig Sauer factory in New Hampshire. Trump took a tour in May of last year, shortly before formally announcing his presidential campaign. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric toured the factory earlier this year, even posing for photos with what Mother Jones confirms are MCX rifles:
When Trump spoke at a National Shooting Sports Foundation trade show in Las Vegas earlier this year, his sons once again made a point to grab some photos with Sig Sauer reps:
Sig Sauer is a towering presence in New Hampshire, an important state for presidential hopefuls hoping to score early primary victories. The company ranks as the fifth biggest firearms supplier in the country with an estimated global revenue of $500 million.
Though the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Complex's request for comment, spokesperson Hope Hicks asserted to Mother Jones that presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton had "taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from gun and ammo manufacturers" before posing this question:
"What's worse: knowing the manufacturer, or taking money from them?"
Complex's attempts to contact both the Clinton campaign and Sig Sauer did not prove immediately successful, though a Clinton spokesperson has called Hicks' claims "the latest false accusation from the Trump campaign."
The National Rifle Association (NRA), who formally endorsed Trump last month, announced Wednesday that "anyone on a terrorism watch list who tries to buy a gun should be investigated by the FBI and the sale delayed," Reutersreports. You read that correctly: sale delayed, not halted. Trump is expected to meet with the NRA soon to discuss these measures further.
