Former President Trump and his allies are aggressively pushing back after Democrats and critics seized on his remarks that there would be a “bloodbath” if he lost the November election. .
President Trump’s comments over the weekend sparked outrage, with the former president threatening violence similar to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol if he loses re-election to President Biden.
“It’s clear this man wants another January 6th,” Biden wrote on Platform X, formerly known as Twitter, after his bloodbathed remarks went viral. “But the American people will give him another major electoral defeat this November.”
President Trump and his allies expressed outrage and outrage over the ensuing firestorm, arguing that the context made it clear that the former president was discussing the economic impact on the auto industry.
“Even though the fake news media and their Democratic partners in destroying our country knew perfectly well that I was simply referring to imports authorized by crooked Joe Biden. He pretended to be shocked that I used the word bloody. The auto industry,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The remarks in question were made at a rally in Ohio on Saturday in support of Ohio Republican Senate primary candidate Bernie Moreno. President Trump at one point warned China against opening a factory in Mexico to sell cars to the United States.
“No, I’m going to impose a 100 percent tariff on every car that crosses the border. If I’m elected, you won’t be able to sell those cars,” Trump said. “If I don’t get elected, this country will be a disaster. That would suck. But they’re not going to sell those cars, they’re building big factories.”
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said President Trump’s comments underscored the dangers of the Democratic election in November.
“What does that mean? Is he going to bathe in blood?” Pelosi said on CNN. “Something is wrong here. As much as I respect the American people and their goodness, how much more do Americans need from him to understand that this is not the essence of our country? Should I see it?”
Some Republicans thought Trump’s comments were taken out of context and wondered if he was emboldening his critics and giving his defenders a reason to rally behind him. suggested.
“When you bring up something about a bloodbath, which may not be about the kind of street violence associated with an election, but maybe about an economic bloodbath, it gives his defenders something to focus on. , so it will give you a distorted version,” the senator said. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who voted to convict President Trump in his second impeachment trial, told “Meet the Press.”
“Yes, he always walks to the edge based on that rhetoric,” he added. “Again, that’s why people are concerned.”
“It’s shocking that the media continues to push such easily disprovable lies to smear Trump,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who leads the Senate Republican campaign. Stated.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), considered President Trump’s running mate, called recent attacks on the former president “ridiculous.”
Even former Vice President Mike Pence, who announced on Friday that he would not support Mr. Trump in the election, said that Mr. – told The Nation.
Trump’s critics argued there was little reason to give him the benefit of the doubt.
President Trump is facing criminal charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which culminated in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
President Trump encouraged his supporters to come to Washington, D.C., for a “wild” rally and march to the Capitol that morning. He praised the rioters as “patriots” and has since called those imprisoned for that day’s actions “hostages.”
Biden echoed Trump’s comments that there were “very fine people” on both sides after a deadly 2017 clash between white supremacists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. I’ve quoted it repeatedly.
During the 2020 debate, Trump told the far-right group the Proud Boys to “step back and stand by,” a comment that later surfaced.
And President Trump has stepped up his attacks on immigrants in recent weeks, claiming that they “taint the blood” of the country. He said on Saturday that he considers some migrants to be “animals” and, in some cases, “not human beings.”
“What I heard was a continuation of the same rhetoric, the same support for political violence, that we’ve seen for years from Donald Trump,” Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said on MSNBC. Told.
“So it’s not just one comment. This is exactly who Donald Trump is, and this is exactly the threat he poses to our democracy every day,” Tyler added.
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