On the defensive once again, Donald Trump is blaming faulty interpretations and media bias for an uproar over his comments about the Second Amendment.
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“I will absolutely do three debates”, Trump told Time magazine.
The reaction from Democrats was immediate.
“Reasonable people can disagree about policy positions, but Donald Trump has suggested the president of the United States have an act of violence committed upon him – that is so over the line – that if people don’t disavow their support they are complicate in the things he said and the consequences of it”, said Dillon.
Appearing on Fox News later Tuesday, Trump told Sean Hannity that he had only called for Second Amendment supporters to take political action.
Clinton’s campaign responded to the ad with a statement, telling CNN: “The gun lobby is coming to Donald Trump’s defense and spending millions of dollars to spread lies about Hillary Clinton because they know Trump will always do their bidding”. Bob Owens, editor of BearingArms.com, said he did not believe Trump was talking about voting.
Naturally, Trump’s political foes didn’t take the comments lightly.
At a later rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Trump avoided addressing his controversial comments. Trump dismissed the group as part of the Washington establishment that he blames for numerous United States’ problems.
The most scathing commentary about Trump, however, came from panelist Mike Barnicle, who tied Trump’s remarks on Tuesday with his recent demagoguery about the election being “rigged” this fall.
If the Donald wanted someone dead, he would have just said it, top Trump backer Rudy Giuliani claimed. He repeated his argument that Mrs Clinton posed a threat to gun rights, but avoided any talk about advocates taking matters into their own hands. “I’ve been saying it loud and clear, long before he said anything about me”. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Monday became the fourth Republican senator to announce she would not vote for Trump.
The US Secret Service, responsible for both Mrs Clinton’s and Mr Trump’s protection, said it was aware of what Mr Trump had said, but declined to say whether it planned to investigate.
Trump has accused his Democratic rival of wanting to abolish it, a charge that she denies. What she has called for is tougher gun regulations – including expanded background checks and allowing families of victims of gun violence to sue gun manufacturers or dealers.
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However, his remarks that “Second Amendment people” could act to stop Clinton, if elected, from making Supreme Court appointments left many aghast the Republican nominee was hinting or joking about a hypothetical assassination. “I know he is a responsible man, a very, very successful man, a man who achieved a great deal and can be trusted much better than Hillary Clinton, who has been found to be extremely careless with the use of national security information”.
