Donald Trump’s inflammatory comments about “Second Amendment people” have rippled across the continent and now, veteran journalist Dan Rather says people should not stand for it.
Trump’s assertion that there was something “Second Amendment people” could do to stop rival Hillary Clinton from appointing judges to the Supreme Court — which many read as a violent threat — came moments after he falsely claimed Clinton wanted to revoke the right to gun ownership.
WATCH: Trump’s ‘2nd Amendment people’ comment raises concern on violence against Clinton
Rather, a former anchor on CBS News, took to Facebook on Wednesday evening, only hours after the comments were made, and criticized Trump for reaching “a new low … in the history of American presidential politics.”
“This is a direct threat of violence against a political rival,” Rather wrote. “It is not just against the norms of American politics, it raises a serious question of whether it is against the law.”
Trump clarified his remarks late on Tuesday, suggesting he was referring to the voting power that gun owners hold, insisting that “there could be no other interpretation” during an interview on Fox News.
READ MORE: Donald Trump blames media for misinterpretation of Second Amendment comment
But in his Facebook post, Rather said that no matter how Trump explains it, his words “cannot be taken back.”
“That is what inciting violence means,” he wrote.
Parts of his post, while public, seem directed to Republican supporters of Trump.
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“Many have tried to do a side-shuffle and issue statements saying they strongly disagree with his rhetoric but still support the candidate. That is becoming woefully insufficient. The rhetoric is the candidate.
“We will soon know whether anyone who has publicly supported Trump explains how they can continue to do.”
Rather worked as an anchorman on the CBS Evening News for over 20 years, before leaving the company in 2005 after controversy surrounding a report on George W. Bush’s military record.
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