By Nicole Trigg
Pioneer Staff
Just when the world thought Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump couldnt stoop any lower, he has dropped to a new rock bottom that has left not only his political opponents aghast, but supporters within his own party, while creating an international media storm. In an offhand comment to supporters at a rally in the State of North Carolina, Trump actually strung together a series of words that many have interpreted as an assassination threat against rival Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Every major news outlet, from The Times of India to the Shanghai Daily, is reporting on his remarks: If she (becomes president and) gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks, although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know.
Trump later clarified, saying his intention was to appeal to the Second Amendment political movement to mobilize and vote as a bloc against Clinton to protect Americans right to bear arms ( there can be no other interpretation I mean, give me a break), which Trump has accused Clinton of wanting to abolish, which she denies. But the careless delivery of his comments, compounded by the shrug of his shoulders and the way he left his sentence hanging in midair hardly came across like a rallying political cry intended to unite Americans around a common cause; hence leaving the door wide open for critics and the media to tear his remarks apart and do further irreparable damage to his presidential campaign.
No matter how you spin what Trump said about Clinton and the Second Amendment at that rally, it really doesnt matter. No one in the public eye should even come close to making any statements from which one can draw the worst possible inferences. If Trump was president and something he said about Russia, the Middle East or North Korea came out wrong, the damage would have far-reaching and unpredictable consequences that would put the safety of so many in jeopardy. At what point will the Republican Party say enough is enough, youve crossed the line, and pull its support? But doing so would admit complete defeat before the election; therein lies the problem. Yet the Republicans need to win means defending a nominee who has lost control of what the party stands for in the first place.
