Trump: Second Amendment Comment Was About ‘Political Power’
Despite stating that “Second Amendment people” might be able to “do” something about Hillary Clinton, GOP nominee Donald Trump claims his comment was about harnessing the “political” power of the voting bloc.
Appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Trump claimed he was encouraging “Second Amendment” supporters to use their collective voting power.
“This is a political movement. This is a strong political movement, the Second Amendment,” Trump stated. “And there can be no other interpretation.”
Trump’s initial comments, however, indicated that he was discussing a situation in which Clinton would be appointing judges — not still battling for votes on Election Day.
Earlier, in an interview with WNCN, captured by Mediaite, Trump first attempted to clarify that he was talking about the “political power” of the “Second Amendment people.”
“[T]he Second Amendment people have tremendous power because they’re so united,” he claimed.
Trump’s senior communications adviser, Jason Miller, backed Trump’s “political power” comments: “It’s called the power of unification — 2nd Amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great political power. And this year, they will be voting in record numbers, and it won’t be for Hillary Clinton, it will be for Donald Trump.”
The Secret Service is aware of the comments made earlier this afternoon.
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) August 9, 2016
Photo: Republican U.S. Presidential nominee Donald Trump attends a campaign event at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania August 1, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Thayer
Dan Rather Eviscerates Trump: ‘History Is Watching’
Dan Rather, formerly of CBS Evening News and now host of The Big Interview on AXS TV, published a Facebook post Wednesday eviscerating Trump for his comments that “Second Amendment people” may be able to “do” something about Hillary Clinton.
Rather called Trump’s comments a “new low” and stated he had “crossed a line with dangerous potential”:
Rather went on to anticipate an “explanation” from the Trump camp, but said “once the words are out there they cannot be taken back.” Rather went so far as to say Trump’s words were “what inciting violence means.”
Rather issued a severe warning to “anyone who still pretends this is a normal election” of Republican versus Democrat: “history is watching.”
He concluded his post with a quote from Abraham Lincoln, stating that the 16th President’s call for “cohesion and peace” during the eve of the Civil War was met with “horrific violence that almost left our precious Union asunder.” “We cannot let that happen again,” Rather warned.
As Rather predicted, Trump and his camp have already issued explanatory statements for the comment, claiming Trump was talking about harnessing the “political power” of the Second Amendment voting bloc.
Rather’s full statement can be viewed on Facebook, here.
Photo via Flickr/Charlie Llewellin