New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat with a background as a Navy helicopter pilot, dropped a bombshell on CNN’s OutFront this week, declaring there’s no point in forging a working relationship with President Donald Trump because he is not somebody that you can work with. This isn’t just petty partisan sniping—it’s a revealing peek into the mindset of the anti-2A establishment as Trump gears up for another term. Sherrill, who has consistently pushed for red-flag laws, universal background checks, and other gun control measures in the Garden State, is signaling that reconciliation isn’t on the table. For 2A advocates, this is music to our ears: it underscores why a Trump White House, backed by a pro-gun Congress, is our best shot at dismantling the incremental erosions of our rights that governors like Sherrill champion.
Context matters here. Sherrill’s home turf, New Jersey, is a gun control dystopia—think magazine bans, assault weapon prohibitions, and one of the nation’s strictest permitting regimes, all hallmarks of the Bloomberg-funded playbook. Her dismissal of Trump echoes the broader Democratic strategy post-2024: double down on resistance rather than compromise, especially on issues like firearms where public opinion has been shifting toward protection of self-defense rights (recent Gallup polls show 56% of Americans opposing stricter laws). Trump’s first term saw the bump stock ban challenged, suppressor reforms advanced via the Hearing Protection Act push, and ATF rulemakings reined in—progress that petrified folks like Sherrill. Her comments aren’t just about personality; they’re a preemptive strike against any hope of bipartisan wins on concealed carry reciprocity or deregulating short-barreled rifles.
The implications for the 2A community are crystal clear: expect gridlock from blue-state holdouts, but that’s where federal power shines. With Trump potentially stacking the courts further and a GOP trifecta, we could see national reciprocity legislation (like the Hearing Protection Act reborn) overriding Sherrill’s fiefdom. This CNN clip is a rallying cry—proof that the gun-grabbers won’t negotiate, so neither should we. Arm up, stay vigilant, and let’s make 2025 the year we reclaim ground from the likes of Mikie Sherrill.
