WILMINGTON, N.C. — Donald Trump was ticking through a list of reasons to support him over Hillary Clinton on Tuesday when he decided to linger on one.
“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,” Trump said with a shrug at a rally here after accusing Clinton of wanting to strip Americans of their gun rights. He paused, then softly offered a postscript: “Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.”
The denouncements came swiftly from Clinton’s campaign and her allies — and from outside politics. The insinuation, critics said, was that Trump was inciting his followers to bear arms against a sitting president. And Trump’s response was just as swift: He’d said nothing of the sort but was merely encouraging gun rights advocates to be politically involved.
The pattern has repeated itself again and again. First come Trump’s attention-getting expressions. Then come the outraged reactions. The headlines follow. Finally, Trump, his aides and his supporters lash out at the media, accusing journalists of twisting his words or missing the joke. It happened last week, when Trump appeared to kick a baby out of a rally, then later insisted that he was kidding. It happened the week before, when he encouraged Russia to hack Clinton’s emails, then claimed he was just being sarcastic.
And with each new example, Trump’s rhetorical asides grow more alarming to many who hear them — and prompt condemnations from an ever-wider universe of critics. On Tuesday, for instance, even Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), one of Trump’s most ardent defenders, struggled to fully embrace his comments. Sessions insisted in an interview on CNN that Trump did not mean to encourage violence, but he acknowledged that Trump’s words were “awkwardly phrased.”
Do I think Trump really threatened violence against Clinton? No. What he did was innuendo. The danger of such statements is that some not-too-stable person might take his innuendo literally and attempt to cause bodily harm.
That’s why saying “bomb” at an airport or on a plane is a really stupid thing to do. Homeland security doesn’t know you aren’t some nut-job.
Once again, poor judgement on Trump’s part. With Trump, there is just a sea of stupid remarks to deal with that reinforce his incredibly poor judgement. Additionally, Hillary does not want to abolish the 2nd amendment. That is a pure lie. 4 Pinocchios. 7 pairs of pants on fire!
The WaPo continues:
“Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment,” he said. “By the way, and if she gets to pick — if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.”
Clinton has never said she wants to eliminate the Second Amendment. Even if she did, neither the president nor the Supreme Court nor lower-level federal judges have the power to do so. There are two ways to alter the Constitution. One requires a two-thirds vote of Congress and then approval by three-fourths of the nation’s state legislatures. The other requires calling a constitutional convention and, again, approval by three-fourths of the states.
One common thread linking many of Trump’s more controversial comments and actions is that he denies having said or done them. Trump claimed never to have mocked a disabled New York Times reporter, despite a widely disseminated video clip showing him making jerking movements with his arms. He claimed that he never said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is not a war hero, despite a Q&A in which he said just that.
He said he never advocated intervention in Libya, though he did.
There is always great denial with Trump. He cannot assume responsibility for anything he says. When does he stop?
Trump’s “2nd Amendment” comment is practically an incitement to his White Nationalist base. He probably meant it as a joke, but that’s not how his supporters will hear it. I hope the Secret Service takes this seriously because who knows how many lone wolf domestic terrorists Trump has inspired.
It amazes me that 40% of the population still want this lunatic as president. 4% sound be more like it.
The best take I saw on his stupid comment was that if anyone else had said something like that they would be sitting in the back of a car being questioned by the FBI. I, for one, have had enough of “The Donald.”
Hillary does want to severely restrict the Second Amendment. I would not rate the statement as Four Pinnochios. There is a lot of truth to what Trump said, even if she does not want to “eliminate” the 2nd Amendment.
It would be virtually impossible to formally “eliminate” the 2nd Amendment, but it would not be hard to nominate SCOTUS justices that reinterpret the 2nd Amendment as applying only to people in the “militia” and therefore severely restricting individual ownership.
That would almost be the same as “elimination” of the 2nd Amendment.
We can only hope that it would not be hard. There are many of us who have had enough of guns. Period. The only reason we don’t speak out is because we are afraid all the people with the guns.
@kelly_3406
I have read and followed what she proposes. Keeping the guns out of the hands of criminals and mentally ill people is NOT what most Americans would call taking away your 2A rights.
Saying that she wants to take away the 2nd amendment is simply a lie.
@kelly_3406
Indeed. As a matter of fact, Hillary has been quite open about what she plans to do, and for once I don’t think she’s lying. She will nominate Justices and appoint judges who will seek to reverse the Heller and MacDonald decisions. She will push for an Australian style gun-control scheme, and push for a federal AWB.
Like so many of our other enumerated rights, she doesn’t need to have them repealed to have them abolished. She only has to gut them to the point where they are meaninglessness.
We’ve had the right to keep and bear since 1789, and yet up until very recently many states and jurisdictions refused to recognize this, and the Federal Government failed to assert Constitutional supremacy, while others so severely restricted the right, it was essentially meaningless. Illinois, DC, CA, MA, MD.
I suppose you have to ask if that is her main objective.
It certainly can happen. Abortion rights is living proof of how something that is a right can be whittled away to nothing.
Guns and reproductive rights….
Trump’s comments were like those of a strongman from Zimbabwe, Russia, N Korea or the Phillipines, where murdering political opponents is common. We are not a third world nation ruled by a strongman. Trump wants to turn us into a third world nation.
Even if he was advocating a filibuster in the Senate nobody will ever really know because he didn’t finish the thought. This is an established behavior pattern with him. He’s too scatterbrained to be the leader of the free world. There are too many nutcases out there, foreign and domestic. You can’t leave it to them to draw their own conclusions.
That is what concerns me also, Robin Hood.
They’ve been saying for 8 years now that Obama is going to take our guns. They know that Obama had no intention of taking our guns. But the NRA uses it as a tactic to increase its membership and increase gun sales. It worked. Useful idiots ran out and bought guns during the Obama administration. So they’re trying to drum up the same thing with Hillary. It matters not that Hillary never expressed any intention or desire to abolish the second amendment. It matters not that the warnings about Obama never took place. These people will gulp down whatever koolaid is fed to them by their leaders.
Unfortunately, all that hype probably caused those unfit to own a gun to purchase one or many. Loaded powder keg!
At what point can we call 2A zealots terrorists? Can we apply anti-terrorism actions when politicians advocate armed resistance (Trump) or only when they actually do it (Bundy).
I expect those too frightened to leave the house without a gun are also likely too afraid to use their guns to confront police or the national guard. I don’t worry about a putsch from 2A types when Trump loses. But, there will be great whining and gnashing of teeth and some likely cowardly attacks on ethnic/religious populations since they will rightly be identified as the reason for Trumps landslide loss since courts refused to allow voter suppression of minorities. The great white silent majority will fail again as it did in 2008 and 2012.
I fear violence is coming. Trump’s rhetoric is getting more and more inflammatory and he seems not to care about the consequences.
I am starting to feel some Trump Fatigue. Almost every day he has some new statement that shows how dangerously unqualified he is. I can’t imagine how his defenders muster the energy to defend outrage after outrage. It must be the adrenaline from their hatred of Clinton. I just can’t imagine hating anyone that much.
Hopefully, more and more of people will tire of his game and he’ll drop even more in the polls.
Some good news though: We won’t be seeing a lot of political ads this fall. Virginia is no longer a swing state. Even better news: Georgia and Arizona are swing states.
I’m still hoping for a 400+ electoral vote blowout for Clinton though. Trumpism must be soundly defeated or it will come back. (Either Trump or someone else like him.)
DumpTrump, you bring up a good point. It’s important to send a solid message about totally unqualified candidates.
I think we, as a nation, are just too American to entertain a Donald Trump for very long.
I don’t understand hating anyone that much either …re Clinton but its been going on since at least 1992. That’s a long time to fester in some folks.
Did you see the polls for the swing states? They aren’t looking so good.
Not good for Trump. Good for us!
@MoonHowler
No kidding!
Has anyone read anything about Hillary’s health? I know there are a lot of conspiracy theories, but her speech and gait suggest an issue with her health. One would think her campaign would offer an explanation since it is so noticeable.
Conspiracy theories abound. I haven’t noticed a thing other than her hair looks like crap this week.
There is absolutely no argument that Trump has said many stupid and outrageous things. And I understand that most of the posters want to support Hillary because of her politics and gender. But all that should be a secondary consideration compared to Hillary’s actual record of corruption and failure.
It is not debatable that her miss-handling of classified materials would have resulted in an indictment of nearly anyone else. It is now clear that one of the intelligence sources that she discussed in her emails was executed by Iran.
It is not debatable that the Clinton Foundation received millions of dollars from foreign sources while she was Secretary of State and that those donors received access to her and favorable decisions from the State Department. Recent email releases show the close intertwining between the business of the State Department and that of the Clinton Foundation.
It is not debatable that the Middle East became destabilized during her stint as Secretary of State. The US pullout in Iraq, the failure to plan for Libya after the overthrow of Qaddafi, and the failure to finish off Assad in Syria (with planning for the afternath) have created a power vacuum that allowed ISIS to emerge. The US homeland has suffered multiple attacks from the JV team.
Your denunciation of Trump falls on deaf ears when you overlook her sad record and focus only on Trump’s crazy statements.
The polling numbers speak for themselves. Fivethirtyeight.com gives Trump the likelihood of winning at an appalling 12.2%.
Actually, I don’t think any of us Hillary supporters support her because of her gender. Most of us supporter her because her policies come closer in line to our own beliefs. As for it not being debatable about her mishandling of emails, I do say it was an error, not criminal. The FBI apparently agrees with me.
My denunciation of Trump resonates with a majority of Virginians, not to mention the rest of the country. He is woefully unqualified and a danger to this country.
@MoonHowler
Trump is indeed very inexperienced, but at least he is not bought and paid for by foreign interests like Hillary.
Fivethirtyeight.com gave similar odds for Cleveland to come back to win the NBA championship over Golden State after falling behind 3-1, but Lebron did not pay any attention to the odds and eked out an unprecedented championship.
I suspect the presidential race will be just as volatile.
The Russians got a watered-down GOP platform statement on the Ukraine and they hacked the DNC. You should consider all of the facts before you make a sweeping statement about who’s helping whom.
@Kelly_3406
Let’s do a comparison study between Bob McDonnell and Hillary Clinton. I like McDonnell and his politics. Since his conviction was overturned by the SCOTUS, let’s consider the possibility of an attempted political comeback by McDonnell.
If he tries to stage a political comeback, I will never vote for McDonnell due to his bad judgement for accepting valuable gifts as governor from someone that could benefit from his decisions. McDonnell’s conviction was overturned on a technicality because what he did was not against Virginia law. But what he did SHOULD have been against the law. Whether it was actually legal or not, it was a corrupt thing to do. There is no chance that I would vote for him under any circumstance.
McDonnell’s “crimes” pale in comparison to what Hillary has done. The Clinton Foundation accepted millions from foreign donors that wanted favors and appear to have received them. McDonnell and his wife received chump change by comparison.
The timing of State Department decisions and the transfers of money to the Clinton Foundation is a matter of public record.
Do the blog contributors supporting Hillary not have a problem with this?
No, I don’t have a problem because I know you and the right wing dislike her and have embellished anything to do with the Clinton Foundation. I tend to look at the job they have done for the betterment of mankind, around the world.
As for Bob McDonnell, I disagree seriously on his policies and his poor judgement. However, I don’t feel he broke any Virginia laws. I would not have sent him to prison in the first place. What I do have a problem with is the fact that Virginia legislators did not shore up the state’s very weak ethics laws.
I wouldn’t have voted for McDonnell in the first place. Pat Robertson as a mentor just doesn’t do much for me. Governor Ultra-Sound needs to go do something else. I am still mad over the fact that VRS invested in Jonnie Williams trash crap product. Now tell me that was just random!
I hope you aren’t giving serious thought to voting for someone as UnAmerican as Trump. There are other candidates out there to choose. Surely your hatred of Hillary is not that strong! I am guessing you have hated her at least since ’92.
@MoonHowler
I do not hate Hillary. But I do hate how she treats the little people that work for her and I despise her corruption.
Most of this stuff is very recent and it was published by reputable sources who are not right wing (e.g. NY Times, Washington Post).
I am not sure how you know first hand how she treats the little people.
I do not see her as corrupt–any more so than any other politician and I have ben Clinton watching for a long time.
I don’t think that the WaPo or the NYT have called Hillary corrupt. Have they criticized her? Yes. Big difference in that and calling hr corrupt.
@MoonHowler
What in the world is your definition of corruption?
There are multiple instances of large payments to the Clinton Foundation by parties that stood to gain from decisions that she was making as Secretary of State. She and Bill have pocketed huge sums of money from the Clinton Foundation. All this has been documented by credible news organizations that you respect.
This is a classic example of corruption. To put it in perspective, if an acquisition officer in the Air Force were to receive payments from a party that could benefit from his acquisition decision, then he would certainly be court-martialed if discovered.
@Kelly_3406
Hillary’s emails did not get an “Iranian intelligence source” executed. That’s a lie. Btw, his name was Sharam Amiri. If you’re so concerned, you could at least know the person’s name.
@Starryflights
I suggest you work on your reading comprehension–my post only noted the timing between Hillary’s email reference to Amiri and his arrest. The Iranians certainly thought Amiri was an intelligence source for the US.
We do not know if Hillary’s emails were compromised and made their way to Iran. You have no basis to state that her emails had nothing to do with it.
There is a strong suspicion in published reports that the DNC was hacked by the Russians. Why dismiss that Hillary’s server might have been hacked by the Russians too? The Russians and Iranians have cooperated in Syria, so it’s not a stretch to look for cooperation in other areas. I would certainly look for evidence of a Russia-Iran link to try to figure out how Amiri was compromised.
@Kelly,Only by taking wild accusations and believing them hook line and sinker can you live with yourself for supporting Trump because Hillary is worse. Meanwhile we have transparency on Cinton’s side regarding foundation donors and income tax but Donald is hiding stuff. I’d prefer the devil we know after 30 years of partisan witch hunts than the Donald devil we don’t because he insists we should just believe and trust him because, he assures us, he is smart and rich.
Great response, Ed. We often don’t agree, but in this case, I sure do agree with you.
@ed
You are living on a different planet, Ed. Only in your alternate reality is a story by the NYTimes that documents millions of dollars that Hillary received from foreign sources as Secretary of State considered a wild accusation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html?_r=0
You guys are just sticking your fingers in your ears and chanting, “la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la”.
@ed
There is a story in the NYTimes that documents the millions of dollars received from foreign sources by the Clinton Foundation while Hillary was Secretaty of State. Only in your alternate reality is that a wild accusation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html?_r=0
You remind me of a teenager that sticks his hands in his ears and goes ‘la-la-la-la……la-la-la” to avoid hearing something unpleasant.
This is a place for “civil debate” and “grown ups.” It is not the Sheriff of Nottingham. You should treat Ed with more respect.
You have admitted your hatred of Hillary and maybe you’ve fallen for the FOX News manipulation of videos of Clinton to raise questions about her health. As the saying goes, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
@Kelly_3406
@Robin Hood
I said that I do NOT hate Hillary.
Ed pitched the first stone. I pitched it back harder. I engage in courteous debate, so long as the courtesy is returned.
@Robin Hood
I saw a video from June 10th that looks like Hillary was having some type of seizure. Hillary was chatting with reporters about being pleased to get Obama’s endorsement. After the “incident”, she blamed it on too much caffeine.
I am no medical expert, although I had first aid training in the military. It sure looked like a seizure to me.
If reporters are present, it would seem that doctoring a video is not an option.
That was the manipulation of video by FOX News I mentioned.
A person can miss a “not” while quickly scanning voluminous posts. I’m sorry I misread your words.
So now are you grown up enough to apologize for comparing others on this thread to petulant teenagers and questioning someone’s reading comprehension? I could have made some snide remark about the gullibility of FOX News watchers, but I try to conduct myself with more class than that.
@Kelly_3406
@Robin Hood
What part was doctored? By the way, I did not see it on Fox News.
No need for an apology– I misread stuff all the time too. But you did not inflame the discussion by referring to my statement as a “lie” or “outrageous accusation”.
Here’s the video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2gYplpPmbXI
I don’t think saying “outrageous accusation” is particularly harsh.
I looked at the video. It means nothing. That isn’t how seizures look, or at least any seizures I have seen. 1, its only 25 seconds. In the days of video “magic” and alterations, I wouldn’t rule out fixing the visuals. I also wouldn’t rule out a reaction to something someone did or said.
I think its grasping at straws. Perhaps we should have all been more on target looking for signs of early Alzheimers, if you get my drift here.
That You Tube video shows her reaction to having mikes and phones shoved in her face. The FOX version slows it down and repeats it to look like a seizure.
@Kelly_3406
I am not really going to debate the Clintons. Regardless of their shortcomings, they look angelic next to Trump who is the most unqualified person running for a major party in my lifetime.
To even compare him to the Clintons is just way off base.
I’ve seen elderly people who at the beginning stages of dementia get angry, defensive and have a very distorted view of reality so they are constantly saying outrageous things that doesn’t make much sense. I’m no medical expert but it sure looks like Trump fits that diagnosis. (That’s for Kelly)
After I made this observation Kathleen Parker wrote an article based on personal experience that brain damage could be the source of Trumps temperamental issues. It was after this article that Trump supporters started making Clinton’s health an issue. At least Clinton has released medical data to support her health report while Trump released a minimal doctor statement that his health is great. Clinton wins this on transparency. She also wins the “temperament you’d prefer to be holding the nuclear football” contest. Ice queen bitch wins over thin skinned egomaniac with excessive vindictiveness.
Touché