Donald Trump’s assurances, Hillary Clinton antipathy unify Republicans

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — His new list of potential Supreme Court picks soothed conservatives’ fears, and his embrace by the National Rifle Associationguaranteed him the backing of the most committed activists on the right, as likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump continued to build unity within the party.

In both cases, the support is as much about antipathy toward Mr. Trump’s likely opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as it is about liking the billionaire businessman.

But the effect is the same: an increasingly unified Republican Party and a candidate who is saying the right things to keep them in his camp.

Mr. Trump tried to make it an easy choice for the NRA rank and file as he addressed the gun group’s annual convention in Louisville on Friday, talking up his sons’ enthusiasm for firearms, railing against gun-free zones and saying that electing Mrs. Clinton would mean kissing the Second Amendment goodbye.

“The only way to save our Second Amendment is to vote for a person that you all know named Donald Trump,” he said at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum. “I will never let you down. I will protect our Second Amendment. I will protect our country.”