Trump addresses NRA as he rips critics — live updates

President Trump is speaking to the National Rifle Association Friday in Indianapolis, continuing his strong support of the gun advocacy group.

“Heading to Indianapolis to speak at the big NRA Conference. Love being in Indiana. The @NRA is getting stronger & stronger and doing some really great and important work. Having their powerful support has been vital to #MAGA!” Mr. Trump tweeted ahead of his departure.

Leading up to the address, Mr. Trump has been on the attack against those he views as enemies, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity late Thursday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation was an attempted overthrow of the government. Mr. Trump, despite insisting the investigation totally exonerates him, has continued to blast Mueller’s report and Democrats who have more questions for his current and former aides.

Follow along below for live updates.

Trump arrives in Indianapolis

Mr. Trump emerged from Air Force One in Indianapolis at 11:20 a.m., according to reporters accompanying him on the trip. The president is scheduled to address the crowd at 11:35 a.m.

Trump speaks on a range of topics before leaving for Indianapolis

Mr. Trump addressed a variety of topics Friday on the White House South Lawn as he was leaving for the NRA conference, including Mueller’s assertion that he directed former White House counsel Don McGahn to fire Mueller.

“I never told Don McGahn to fire Mueller. If I wanted to fire Mueller I would have done it myself. … I had the right to,” the president said. “I’m a student of history, I see what you get when you fire people, and it’s not good. But there would have been nothing wrong with firing him.”

The president also addressed his 2017 remarks after the deadly Charlottesville protests, in which Mr. Trump claimed there were “very fine people on both sides.”

Former Vice President Joe Biden launched his presidential bid Thursday with a video that centered on the violence and racism on display in Charlottesville during the protests, alluding to Mr. Trump’s response to it. Given the opportunity to revisit those comments Friday, Mr. Trump responded, “I’ve answered that question, and I was talking about people who went because they felt very strongly about the statue of Robert E. Lee.”