The Artifice of the Deal.

President Trump at a rally in support of Republican c
ongressional candidate Rick Saccone, in Moon Township, Pa.
(Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

Remember that time, way back about two weeks ago, when President Trump berated leaders of his own party, in front of a room full of cameras, for being afraid of the NRA, and he vowed to pass a bipartisan bill that would make it harder for kids to get assault rifles?

Yeah, well, in case you missed the latest — which wouldn’t have been hard, since the one-day story was instantly eclipsed by a Cabinet shakeup and a special election — that whole thing went away Monday with a mumbled “never mind”from the White House.

Apparently gun control is really hard, and you actually have to focus on it and change some minds and anger some of your friends. Why go through all that when you’ve already gotten the headline you were after. Kind of like the time in January when Trump did the same thing on immigration, summoning lawmakers from both parties to the White House and declaring his full support for a bipartisan compromise. That lasted until breakfast the next day.

By Matt Bai.

Full story at Yahoo News.