Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

The National Rifle Association (NRA) on Friday endorsed Donald Trump for president at its convention, reports ABC News.

Chris Cox, the executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, made the endorsement immediately before Trump walked on stage.

"Now is the time to unite. If your preferred candidate dropped out of the race, it's time to get over it," Cox said earlier in his remarks.

The news of the endorsement came shortly before Trump addressed the group at their convention in Kentucky.

Trump almost immediately pounced on Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton, calling her "crooked Hillary" and saying she is "anti-gun" and “wants to take your guns away” if elected.

Trump added that deadly mass shootings like the recent one in San Bernardino, California, could be avoided if more people were armed.

"The Second Amendment is under a threat like never before," Trump said, according to ABC News. "Crooked Hillary Clinton is the most anti-gun ... candidate ever to run for office. And, as I said before, she wants to abolish the Second Amendment. She wants to take your guns away. She wants to abolish it.”

He also reiterated his policy promise to eliminate gun-free zones, which exist at some schools and at military bases.

"We're getting rid of gun-free zones, I can tell you," he said today.

The endorsement from the NRA comes as the presidential race continues to heat up. Trump, who is the presumptive Republican nominee, and Clinton, who is expected to be named the Democratic nominee over Bernie Sanders, have upped their attacks on one another in recent days.

Clinton told CNN in an interview this week that Trump is not qualified to president.

"When you run for president of the United States, the entire world is listening and watching," said Clinton. “Based on the way he has behaved and how he has spoken and the policies he has thrown out there, I think it adds up to a very troubling picture."

“It sends a message of disrespect and it sends a message that makes the situation inside those countries not to go all in, the way we need them to go all in,” she said.

Meanwhile, a new Fox News poll released this found that, for the first, Trump tops Clinton in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup.

Trump has a 45-42 percent edge over Clinton, if the presidential election were held today, the poll found.  Last month, Clinton was up by 48-41 percent.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)