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Donald Trump’s controversial call-to-arms against Hillary Clinton
The Republican candidate causes an outcry after calling on gun rights supporters to stop Hillary Clinton. Accused of inciting violence, he claims the media misinterpreted his words / his words were misinterpreted by the media.
Only a day after an economic speech / speech on the economy meant to get his teetering campaign back on track, Donald Trump has once again slipped up. In a rally in North Carolina on Tuesday, the Republican candidate suggested that if Hillary Clinton were elected as President, and if she appointed determinedly anti-gun judges to the Supreme Court, only gun rights supporters would be able to stop her. There was outrage at his comments / His comments led to a clamour of outrage, being widely interpreted as a call to violence against the potential future president and against judges.
“So basically, Hillary wants to get rid of the Second Amendment [which guarantees the right to bear arms],” Trump claimed. “If she’s allowed to choose her own judges, there’s nothing you can do, guys. Although, with you Second Amendment people, there may be one solution, I dunno,” he went on, with a half smile, and without elaborating further. Judging from their surprised reactions, several of the billionaire’s supporters, sat behind him, obviously took his tirade to be a call to take up arms.
“The dishonest media”
American television channels immediately seized upon this latest controversy, showing the clip non-stop and getting reactions from their commentators. On CNN, Michael Hayden, a former chief of the CIA, insisted that “not only are you responsible for what you say, but also for what people hear.” On Monday, he and around fifty other Republican former chiefs of national security rejected Trump’s candidacy in an open letter. The signatories consider that, should Trump win, he would be “the most dangerous president in American history.”
Cornered / Under pressure, the Trump campaign lashed out, as usual, against “the dishonest media”, accusing them of twisting the candidate’s words. According to his team, the billionaire, who enjoys the support of the NRA, the powerful pro-gun lobby, meant to say that only a large-scale turnout by the pro-gun supporters on the 8th of November would prevent Clinton from being elected.
“Advocates of the Second Amendment are very active and united, which gives them an enormous political weight,” explained one of Trump’s advisers. On Twitter, his favourite soapbox, the candidate himself condemned what he saw as an attempted manipulation. “The media is trying desperately to distract from Clinton’s anti-Second amendment positions. I said that the pro-Second Amendment citizens should get organised and go vote to save our Constitution!”
His arguments had difficulty convincing, however, especially since after his repeated slip-ups, not many are ready to give the magnate the benefit of the doubt.