US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has sparked uproar over controversial comments that some political observers interpreted as a threat of violence by gun activists against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
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Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump’s comment that gun owners “could stop” her “crossed the line” and show he does not have the temperament to be United States president.
The remarks came during a rally in North Carolina on Tuesday, as Trump told a crowd that if Clinton is elected she would have the power to appoint liberal supreme court justices.
“He’s not directly saying it, but we all know the Second Amendment is the right to bear arms”.
The Clinton campaign has rejected any accusations, saying in a statement said that none of the emails involved her, but rather dealt with aides who work for her and president Clinton. “And this year, they will be voting in record numbers, and it won’t be for Hillary Clinton, it will be for Donald Trump”, he added.
Almost one-fifth of registered Republicans want Donald Trump to drop out of the race for the White House, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday, reflecting the turmoil his candidacy has sown within his party.
The Secret Service has stated publically that it was aware of Mr Trump’s comments.
The National Rifle Association, which endorses Trump, defended him on Twitter and cast the election as a decision about the Second Amendment.
Immediately, people began over-analyzing what he said, trying to assign a deeper meaning to it, both against and for Trump.
“Trump and his supporters have been scrambling wildly all day to explain away the inexplicable, “wrote Joe Scarborough in the Washington Post, “but they can stop wasting their time”.
Trump’s Republican supporters have downplayed the remarks, suggesting he was joking, or that left-leaning media outlets have intentionally inflated the story. During the primaries, he had offered to pay the legal fees of someone who had allegedly punched out a protester at a North Carolina rally. Trump shouldn’t have made that “dumb remark”, King said, and he should clarify what he meant and move on.
“Hillary wants to abolish, essentially, the Second Amendment”, he said.
Among registered Republicans, another 70% said they said Trump should stay in the race, while 10% said they didn’t know.
“Remember she said.it was for the wedding, the wedding of Chelsea, and it was for yoga classes”.
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Retired General Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, denounced the remark on CNN, saying it was risky no matter the intent.
