‘GUN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS CAN STOP CLINTON’
TRUMP’S REMARK DRAWS CRITICISM AS A THREAT OF VIOLENCE
WILMINGTON: Donald Trump has ignited a fresh political firestorm by declaring gun rights supporters might still find a way to stop Hillary Clinton, even if she should defeat him and then name anti-gun Supreme Court justices. Democrats pounced, accusing him of openly encouraging violence against his opponent.
The Republican presidential nominee has been working this week to move past distracting campaign disputes, but once again he put himself at the centre of a blazing controversy.
First, he falsely claimed that Clinton, his Democratic opponent, wants to “essentially abolish the Second Amendment.”
Clinton has said repeatedly that she supports the Second Amendment right to own guns, though she does back some stricter gun control measures.
Trump then noted the power Clinton would have to nominate justices to the high court. “By the way, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don’t know,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina on Tuesday.
“But I’ll tell you what. That will be a horrible day.”
The reaction from Democrats was immediate. Said her campaign manager, Robby Mook: “This is simple — what Trump is saying is dangerous. A person seeking to be the president of the United States should not suggest violence in any way.”
Trump’s reaction later as the uproar grew: “Give me a break.”
He told Fox News’ Sean Hannity, he said everyone in his audience knew he was referring to the power of voters and “there can be no other interpretation.”