Trump says he would not mind somebody ‘shooting’ at him through fake news

PTI, Nov 4, 2024, 10:34 AM IST

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.” Trump had refused to accept the results of the November 2020 elections. His supporters ended up attacking the US Capitol on January 6, which is considered to be the worst day in American democracy.

The former president, who is now 78, expressed frustration over the enhanced security around him after his recent assassination bids.

“I have a piece of glass over here. I don’t have a piece of glass there. And I have this piece of glass here. But all we have really over here is the fake news, right? And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. I don’t mind that so much. I don’t mind. I don’t mind that,” Trump said, referring the thick bullet proof glass around him and the gap in his protective glass.

“I have a piece of glass here. The problem with that glass is it’s — I don’t look great on television when you have a four-inch piece of glass that a howitzer can’t go through. No, when you see yourself on television, you say, boy, you’re really not very recognizable, to be honest with you, which is good. But here’s the problem. So I have glass here. I have glass here. Now, I’m not worried about this. Look, what do I have? A couple of people. And they’re friends, generally. There are a couple of people I don’t like in that group, but that’s like,” he said.

His remarks were criticized by the Democrats. Harris-Walz Director of Rapid Response Ammar Moussa said as Harris spent today at church in Detroit, talking to voters about her vision to lift up all Americans, Donald Trump was busy violating the Ninth Commandment.

“Trump is spending the closing days of his campaign angry and unhinged, lying about the election being stolen because he’s worried he will lose. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth and will walk into the Oval Office focused on them – that’s Vice President Harris,” Moussa said.

Steven Cheung, Trump Campaign Communications Director, said Trump was 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. It was about threats against him that were spurred on by dangerous rhetoric from Democrats,” he said.

“In fact, President Trump was stating that the Media was in danger, in that they were protecting him and, therefore, were in great danger themselves, and should have had a glass protective shield, also. There can be no other interpretation of what was said. He was actually looking out for their welfare, far more than his own!” Cheung said.