After receiving a wave media backlash, one of Donald Trump’s advisers has come forth to set the record straight: He doesn’t think Hillary Clinton should be assassinated. Instead, he believes she should be executed.
During a radio interview in July, New Hampshire state Rep. Al Baldasaro, who also chairs Trump’s national veterans' coalition, said the Democratic presidential nominee "should be put in the firing line and shot for treason," due to her use of a private email server. The comment later led to a Secret Service investigation, as many believed Baldasaro was calling for Clinton’s assignation. In an interview with MassLive on Tuesday, he adamantly denied that notion.
"The liberal media took what I said and went against the law and the Constitution and ran with it, and they said that I wanted her assassinated, which I never did," Baldasaro told MassLive. "I said I spoke as a veteran, and she should be shot in a firing squad for treason […] If people are that stupid and don't understand, that's not my fault."
Soon after the Secret Service began to investigate the comments, Trump’s spokeswoman Hope Hicks said the GOP presidential nominee is "grateful" for Baldasaro’s support, but he "does not agree" with his sentiment.
During a speech in North Carolina earlier this month, Trump was also accused of suggesting violence towards Clinton:
“Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the Second Amendment," Trump reportedly said during the rally. "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don't know."
Though many believed Trump was encouraging the assassination of Clinton, his camp, of course, denied it.
