Minnesota AG Keith Ellison, a Democrat with a long history of anti-gun advocacy, dropped a real head-scratcher on CNN’s OutFront this week, urging folks to obey the law and try to do everything they can to not be provoked by President Trump. The clip cuts off mid-sentence—But President Donald Trump is ‘trying to provoke’—leaving us to infer he’s basically telling Americans to suck it up and stay calm amid what he sees as deliberate agitation from the 45th (and potentially 47th) president. Coming from Ellison, who’s spent years pushing for red-flag laws, universal background checks, and even defended Minnesota’s assault weapons ban in court, this reeks of selective sanctimony. It’s like he’s coaching the left’s street militants on de-escalation while ignoring their own provocations—like the riots he once justified as mostly peaceful during the 2020 George Floyd unrest.
For the 2A community, this is a masterclass in projection and a warning sign. Ellison’s advice flips the script on the very rhetoric gun-grabbers use against us: they paint law-abiding gun owners as provoked ticking time bombs who need disarming for public safety. Remember, this is the same guy who, as a congressman, compared the NRA to a terrorist organization and championed Obama’s executive actions on guns. Now, facing Trump’s unfiltered pushback against Biden-era ATF overreach—like reclassifying pistols with braces or pistol braces as SBRs—Ellison’s telling his side to play nice? It’s laughable. The implication? When the right fights back politically or culturally, suddenly obey the law becomes the mantra, not defund the police or no kings chants at anti-Trump rallies. This exposes the double standard: left-wing protests get a pass (and billions in damages), but 2A rallies are insurrections.
The real stakes for gun owners? Trump’s return to power means dismantling the regulatory state that’s choked the industry—think restoring bump stock rights, killing ghost gun rules, and appointing judges who respect Heller and Bruen. Ellison’s pearl-clutching is preemptive damage control, signaling Dems know they’re losing the narrative on self-defense and civil liberties. 2A patriots, stay provoked just enough to vote, train, and litigate—because obeying the law doesn’t mean rolling over for provocateurs like Ellison who want your rights holstered. Keep calm and carry on; the Second Amendment demands it.
