Critics See Potential for Violence in Trump’s Call to Disarm Clinton Bodyguards

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump ruffled a few feathers, including those of former congresswoman and shooting survivor Gabrielle Giffords, when he pointed out what he perceived to be rival Hillary Clinton’s hypocrisy on Second Amendment issues.

Giffords, who was a Democratic U.S. representative from Arizona when a would-be assassin shot her in the head, took exception to the rhetoric Trump used during a speech in Miami this week.

After insisting Clinton wants to dismantle the constitutional right to bear arms, Trump suggested the former first lady’s security guards should get rid of their guns first.

“They should disarm,” he told a crowd of supporters. “Right? I think they should disarm immediately. Take their guns away. She doesn’t want guns … let’s see what happens to her.”

He went on to assert the result would be “very dangerous.”

Trump made a similar point the same day on Twitter.

Along with her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, Giffords put public pressure on the brash billionaire to apologize.

In a statement following Friday’s speech, the couple described Trump as “dangerously unfit” to serve as president, citing his comments about Clinton’s bodyguards as the latest evidence.

The joint statement noted Trump’s previous acknowledgement that he regrets some of his more incendiary rhetoric, expressing a desire he will “immediately renounce these comments, apologize to Hillary Clinton, and acknowledge that once again he has gone dangerously too far.”

Other public figures joined the couple in their dismay over the statement.

Giffords and Kelly, along with other Trump critics, implied the statements could prompt an unstable supporter to attempt violence against Clinton.

“They may provide inspiration or permission for those bent on bloodshed,” the statement concluded.

In the online debate that ensued over Trump’s campaign remarks, numerous comments expressed a much different interpretation.

The Giffords-Kelly statement was not the only official denouncement of its kind. In a statement from campaign manager Robby Mook, the Clinton campaign not only criticized Trump’s comments but alleged the GOP nominee “has a pattern of inciting people to violence.” (For more from the author of “Critics See Potential for Violence in Trump’s Call to Disarm Clinton Bodyguards” please click HERE)

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