Speaking at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, the Republican nominee said incorrectly his general election opponent wants to “abolish, essentially, the Second Amendment”. He said that if Clinton becomes president, she could appoint judges who would leave Americans almost but not completely helpless on this front. “And if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Though the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know“, Trump, 70, told a cheering crowd.
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It was not clear whether Trump was inciting gun owners to use their weapons against judges or a sitting president – or was encouraging some other action.
Trump’s comments were interpreted by many as a threat of violence against his Democratic rival with Clinton campaign decrying the remark as “dangerous”.
Trump has drawn the ire of celebrities after making a statement which, to many listeners, implied a death threat towards Hillary Clinton.
In a four-way race in Ohio, Mrs. Clinton would get 44 percent of the vote; Mr. Trump, 42 percent; Mr. Johnson, 8 percent; and Dr. Stein, 3 percent.
That reference to the constitutional right to bear arms prompted very different interpretations. “A person seeking to be the president of the United States should not suggest violence in any way”, said the Clinton campaign in a statement.
Immediately after Trump made his comment, many on social media accused him of effectively calling for Clinton’s assassination.
Mr Trump then noted the power Mrs Clinton would have to nominate justices to America’s top court.
Asked for whom she will vote, Collins said she is likely to write in a name for presudent, though she did not mention a specific name.
The 50 officials issued a stinging rejection of Trump in a letter they have signed.
At a local health clinic, the Democratic presidential nominee said Republican congressional leaders should summon lawmakers back to Washington and immediately pass funding for the Zika response.
Contrary to Trump’s remarks, Clinton has made her support for gun rights a key piece of her stump speech in a bid to pre-empt attacks from Trump and groups like the NRA. A man seated behind him on stage at the North Carolina rally reacted in surprise, his mouth popping open.
The National Rifle Association, the powerful pro-gun lobby that has endorsed Trump, posted a pair of tweets in support of the Republican nominee.
On Monday, Trump seemed to be heeding Republican advice to stick to a message of criticizing Clinton and other Democrats while putting forward economic policy proposals in a speech in Detroit.
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat and a leading advocate for stronger gun safety laws, called Trump’s comments “disgusting and embarrassing and sad”.
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The signatories included Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, the first and second homeland security secretaries under president George W. Bush, former director of National Intelligence John Negroponte and Bush-era CIA director Michael Hayden.
