Trump: Take the Guns From Clinton's Bodyguards

'Let's see what happens to her'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 17, 2016 9:50 AM CDT
Trump: Take the Guns From Clinton's Bodyguards
Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at Trump International Hotel, Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, in Washington.   (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Friday was a day with a "y" in it, which meant there was another controversy involving Donald Trump. Hours after finally acknowledging that President Obama was born in the US, Trump told supporters in Miami that since Hillary Clinton supports gun control, her "heavily armed bodyguards" should lose their guns. "Take their guns away, let's see what happens to her," he said. "Take their guns away, OK? It'll be very dangerous. CNN notes that Trump has talked about disarming Clinton's Secret Service detail before, but this appears to be the first time he's speculated about violence. A round-up of coverage:

  • The Guardian has more from the Miami rally, where Trump repeatedly veered off-script after taking the stage to a song from Les Miserables. Behind him, a huge screen showed a "Les Deplorables" poster.

  • Aaron Blake at the Washington Post notes that while Trump and others have commented about disarming Clinton's bodyguards before, by talking about what would happen, Trump took a comment "that was worn and not all that interesting and spun it forward with just a few extra words, giving it new life by painting a more violent picture."
  • The Miami Herald reports that Trump appears to have mastered the city's complicated politics: His Friday visit included promises to Cuban, Venezuelan, and Haitian-Americans.
  • This isn't the first time Trump has apparently hinted at Clinton's assassination, and Clinton campaign spokesman Robby Mook says such remarks show that the Republican is unfit to be president. "Whether this is done to provoke protesters at a rally or casually or even as a joke, it is an unacceptable quality in anyone seeking the job of commander in chief," he said in a statement.
  • Politico reports that upon reflection, members of the media have realized that Trump played them like a fiddle with yesterday's press conference announcing his stance on the Birther issue. Before he announced that he now believes Obama was born in the US—and blamed Clinton for starting the controversy—he bragged about his new hotel and turned the stage over to military veterans who delivered Trump endorsements for 20 minutes. "While these American heroes are ... much greater men than Rick Astley, it's hard to imagine this as anything other than a political Rick-roll," said CNN's Jake Tapper.
  • The Washington Post takes a look at how prominent Birthers are reacting to Trump's announcement. Like Trump, many of them appear ready to blame Clinton and move on. "Birther queen" Orly Taitz says Trump's job right now is "to do whatever he possibly can to win the election," and the "conversation" about Obama's birthplace can be renewed later.
(More Donald Trump stories.)

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