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U.S. Secret Service talks to Trump campaign over gun rights comments: media

Xinhua, August 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. Secret Service had spoken to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign about his controversial gun rights comments, local media said on Wednesday.

Citing a U.S. Secret Service official who spoke on condition of anonymity, CNN reported that "more than one conversation" had been held between officials from the agency and Trump's campaign, during which the campaign said Trump did not intend to incite violence against his Democratic counterpart Hillary Clinton.

Trump again got embroiled in a political firestorm on Tuesday after suggesting that supporters of gun rights could take action against Clinton if Clinton wins the election.

During a campaign rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, Trump repeated his claim that Clinton intends to abolish the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects Americans' right to keep guns, before appearing to make a joke about using violence to stop Clinton from picking liberal Supreme Court justices.

"Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the Second Amendment," said Trump. "By the way, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks."

"Though the Second Amendment people, maybe there is," he added.

The Clinton campaign immediately seized on Trump's remarks, criticizing the bellicose New Yorker for instigating violence.

"This is simple -- what Trump is saying is dangerous. A person seeking to be the President of the United States should not suggest violence in any way," said the Clinton campaign in a statement.

Other Democrats piled on, with one Democratic senator equating Trump's remarks with "assassination threat" against Clinton.

The Trump campaign defended the nominee by arguing that Trump was talking about nothing other than encouraging gun rights supporters to vote against Clinton in November.

"It's called the power of unification -- 2nd Amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great political power. And this year, they will be voting in record numbers, and it won't be for Hillary Clinton, it will be for Donald Trump," said the Trump campaign on Tuesday in a statement. Endit