DES MOINES, Iowa — Calling on Republicans to cross party lines to support her, Hillary Clinton is warning that Donald Trump’s comments about Second Amendment supporters are just another example of how his words could have “tremendous consequences.”
At a rally in Des Moines Wednesday, Clinton said the remarks were a “casual inciting of violence” that show he lacks the temperament to be commander-in-chief. She then noted her growing list of Republican supporters, saying they were backing her “not as Republicans, but as Americans.”
“We may not agree on everything, but this is not a normal election,” Clinton said. “I will work hard for the next three months to earn the support of anyone willing to put our country first.”
At a rally Tuesday, Trump falsely said that Clinton wanted to revoke the right to gun ownership. He then said that there was nothing people could do to stop Clinton from stacking the Supreme Court with anti-gun justices, before stating vaguely that “although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is – I don’t know. But I’ll tell you what: that will be a horrible day.” The Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms.
Democrats quickly jumped on the comments as further evidence that Trump is undisciplined and unprepared for the presidency, while Trump insisted he was never advocating violence against Clinton.
As Trump struggled to turn the page on a difficult period in his campaign, Clinton’s campaign continued a push to win over Republicans and independents Wednesday, launching a group called “Together for America.” It aims to use a wave of nearly 50 recent endorsements by high-profile Republicans and independents to convince voters to cross party lines.
The campaign released new endorsements from several retired Republican officials, including former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Carla Hills, former Maryland Congresswoman Connie Morella, former Connecticut Congressman Chris Shays and former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte.
Clinton will continue her appeals to Republicans and independents Thursday with an economic speech in Detroit. In Iowa, she stressed her commitment to small businesses and young entrepreneurs with a visit to local T-shirt store, Raygun.
The Iowa trip marked Clinton’s first visit to the battleground state since her narrow win over Bernie Sanders in the leadoff caucuses.
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