Republican candidate Donald Trump waded into a new controversy on Tuesday with a statement that was widely seen as inciting violence against his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Raking up the controversial issue of gun control in the country, Mr. Trump said a Clinton presidency would curtail the rights of gun owners, and suggested that “maybe there is” something they could do about it.
As the statement created furore, Mr. Trump agreed with a friendly interviewer that he did not call for violence and that what he suggested was political action. The candidate himself did not offer an explanation, however. “Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment,” Mr. Trump said at a rally in North Carolina on Tuesday. “By the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know,” he said.
The Second Amendment in the U.S. Constitution gives citizens the right to bear arms. President Barack Obama and Ms. Clinton advocate gun control, while Mr. Trump and the gun lobby in the U.S. strongly oppose any restrictions on guns and constantly misrepresent the Democratic position as an attempt to abolish the Second Amendment.
Mr. Trump’s statement outraged commentators and Clinton supporters. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy tweeted: “Don’t treat this as a political misstep. It’s an assassination threat, seriously upping the possibility of a national tragedy & crisis.” Ms. Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement: “This is simple — what Trump is saying is dangerous. A person seeking to be the President of the United States should not suggest violence in any way.”
Sean Hannity, Fox News anchor and a self-declared Trump supporter, interpreted the statement during an interview with the candidate. “So, obviously you are saying that there’s a strong political movement within the Second Amendment and if people mobilise and vote they can stop Hillary from having this impact on the court.”
“Nobody in that room thought anything other than what you just said,” Mr. Trump replied. “This is a strong powerful movement, the Second Amendment. Hillary wants to take your guns away. She wants to leave you unprotected in your home. This is a tremendous political movement.”
Meanwhile, the presence of Seddique Mateen — the father of Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people in June at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando — at one of Ms. Clinton’s rallies has embarrassed the Democratic candidate. Mr. Mateen, an Afghan-American, runs a satellite TV channel that has a history of supporting the Taliban and taking anti-U.S. positions. Soon after the shooting incident, a video posted showed Mr. Mateen as saying, “God will punish those involved in homosexuality”, and that it is “not an issue that humans should deal with”. The Clinton campaign said the rally was open to all and organisers were not aware of Mr. Mateen’s presence until it became news. Mr. Mateen had a prime spot seating where only those handpicked by the campaign managers usually get to sit.
