Washington: Having survived two assassination attempts this summer, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday suggested that he would not mind if somebody took a shot at him through fake news.
Addressing his supporters at an election rally at Lititz in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Trump generated another controversy by saying that he should not have left the White House after his defeat in the 2020 elections.
“I shouldn’t have left, I mean, honestly. We did so well,” Trump said in his speech but immediately changed the topic. “So now, every polling booth has hundreds of lawyers standing there.”
The former president noted the ballistic glass placed in front of him at events after Thomas Mathew Crooks tried to assassinate him in July at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. He also talked about places where he saw openings in that protection.
“I have this piece of glass here,” he said. “But all we have really over here is the fake news. And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much.”
Trump’scampaign later tried to clarify what he meant, with campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement, according to NBC Philadelphia, “President Trump was brilliantly talking about the two assassination attempts on his own life, including one that came within 1/4 of an inch from killing him, something that the Media constantly talks and jokes about. The President’s statement about protective glass placement has nothing to do with the Media being harmed, or anything else.”
In recent days, this is the second time that Trump mentioned guns being pointed at people he appears not to like. Previously, he suggested thatformer Rep. Liz Cheney would not want to support foreign wars if she had “nine barrels shooting at her.”
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris told a Michigan church congregation on Sunday, October 3, that God offers America a “divine plan strong enough to heal division.” The two candidates’ tones were starkly different, with Harris saying in remarks thatquoted the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, “I see faith in action in remarkable ways. I see a nation determined to turn the page on hate and division and chart a new way forward. As I travel, I see Americans from so-called red states and so-called blue states who are ready to bend the arc of history toward justice.”
