When asked about how he felt about Donald Trump’s comments that “Second Amendment people” might be able to stop Hillary Clinton from appointing Supreme Court judges, Mike Pence jumped to his running mate’s defense and denied that Trump meant the comments as a threat.
Shortly after Trump made those comments Tuesday at a rally in North Carolina, Pence joined other Trump surrogates trying to walk them back following his own campaign event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
“I think Donald Trump is very clear,” Pence told NBC Philadelphia reporter Lauren Mayk.
“Hillary Clinton’s made it very clear that she wants to see changes in the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms,” he continued. “And I think what Donald Trump is clearly saying was that people who cherish that right, people who believe that firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens make communities more safe, not less safe should be involved in the political process.”
When Mayk asked Pence to clarify whether he thought Trump was advocating violence against Clinton, he said “of course not.”
“Donald Trump is urging people around the country to act consistently with their convictions in the course of this election,” he said. “And people who cherish the Second Amendment have a very clear choice in this election.”
