Apparently not, and he did not even use the opportunity to shade/nuance his position to a more acceptable place.
He could have said: Well, when I took office, there were so many criminals running around with illegal firearms, NY was overwhelmed. I did what I thought was best, with advice from my police dept. It was not ideal, and I understand how important the 2nd amendment really is. As a president, I will not support any new gun restrictions, but I will come down like a ton of bricks on illegal trafficking in guns.
But he did not, proving that he is not as smart as people pretend he is.
I have to disagree. I think he is telling the truth and is appealing to his base (which is not us) with the intention of trouncing Hillery.
Better yet, he could have gone after the criminals, rather than criminalizing law abiding citizens.