Trump: Maybe 'Second Amendment People' Could Thwart Clinton
WILMINGTON, N.C. (KDKA/AP) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is stirring up more controversy after suggesting that pro-gun rights advocates could stop Hillary Clinton.
Trump said at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Tuesday that if Clinton gets to pick federal judges as president, there is nothing that can be done to protect the right to bear arms.
But then he adds without elaboration that maybe supporters of the Second Amendment could figure out a way.
"By the way if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know," Trump said.
Uproar as @realDonaldTrump suggests "second amendment people" may be able to do something to stop @HillaryClinton. pic.twitter.com/eyPXEkjLKN
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 9, 2016
It wasn't immediately clear what Trump meant.
The Trump campaign told CBS News in a statement that Second Amendment people "have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified."
"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 statement read.
The Clinton campaign 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."
The Second Amendment provides a constitutional right to citizens to own guns.
"A person seeking to be the President of the United States should not suggest violence in any way." pic.twitter.com/Uu55CBCqdK
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 9, 2016
During the event, he said falsely that Clinton "essentially wants to abolish the Second Amendment." Clinton supports some new restrictions on gun ownership, but has not advocated overturning the amendment.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)