Trump defends gifted Air Force One from Qatar and makes 2nd Amendment pitch as he campaigns for GOP

President Donald Trump spent two days touring the American West on behalf of Republican candidates, using stops in Arizona and Montana to defend keeping a luxury 747 that Qatar's royal family gave him for use as Air Force One, and to cast his party as the protector of gun rights. With the Nov. 3 midterms deciding control of Congress, the trip is meant to energize Republicans as they brace for the losses that typically hit a president's party midway through a term, according to ABC News.

Speaking in economically struggling Bullhead City, Arizona, Trump described asking Qatar's emir to lend him the aircraft and instead being offered it outright. He told the crowd that anyone handed such a gift should simply accept it. He also dwelled on his ballroom, helipad and planned arch in Washington, and brushed off questions about affordability. In Kalispell, Montana, he warned that Democrats would threaten the Second Amendment, touted NRA ratings for Kurt Alme and Aaron Flint, and announced a military testing range. Tuesday's Alaska stop brought pardons for two people and word of a Taiwan gas purchase.

Summarized by PolitiKool from ABC News’s reporting. Read the full story at ABC News →