Beto O'Rourke tells Trump to 'do the right thing' as the two feud over guns

WASHINGTON – Claiming it will be hard to make a gun control deal with Democrats, President Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke and his demand that owners of assault weapons give them up.

O'Rourke, meanwhile, blamed Trump.

"Dummy Beto made it much harder to make a deal," Trump tweeted. "Convinced many that Dems just want to take your guns away. Will continue forward!"

In his tweeted response, O'Rourke said he wanted to be clear: "We will buy back every single assault weapon. We‘ll also license every gun & do a background check on every buyer. That’s what the American people want—and deserve."

To Trump, he added: "The only thing stopping us from ending this epidemic is you & your cowardice. Do the right thing."

Promoting his mandatory gun buy-back program during last week's Democratic debate, O'Rourke proclaimed: “Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47." His campaign has produced T-shirts expressing the same sentiments.

Trump remained silent on his own gun plan, which aides said should be announced soon.

Democratic lawmakers have revived calls for more legislation after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

O'Rourke and other Democrats say Trump doesn't want to do anything about gun safety because he is too indebted to the National Rifle Association.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump blames Beto O'Rourke for difficulty making gun deal