Donald Trump's comments were widely panned from politicians across the spectrum Tuesday. Trump on 'Second Amendment' backlash: 'Give me a break'

Donald Trump sternly dismissed claims that he was calling for violence when he suggested "Second Amendment people" could take action against Hillary Clinton earlier Tuesday.

Speaking to Fox News' Sean Hannity in a prerecorded interview set to air Tuesday night, the Republican nominee continued denying that he intended his remarks to be anything other than a call for political mobilization.


Citing National Rifle Association leaders Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox, Trump offered a rebuke of his critics Tuesday night.

"Wayne and Chris and all the people over there ... they tweeted out, basically they agree 100 percent with what I said. And there can be no other interpretation. Even reporters have told me. I mean, give me a break," the Republican nominee said.

He said that when he spoke earlier Tuesday in Wilmington, North Carolina, his audience understood what he meant.

“Nobody in that room thought anything other than [that]," he said. "This is a political movement. This is a strong powerful movement, the Second Amendment. Hillary wants to take your guns away. She wants to leave you unprotected in your home."

Asked by the unapologetically supportive Hannity, whether his original meaning was being spun by the media, Trump declared emphatically: "There can be no other interpretation."

The Republican nominee went as far as to say that his remarks could turn into a positive for his campaign, in that it would bring attention to his support for protecting gun rights.

"I think it's a good thing for me because it's going to tell people more about me with respect to the Second Amendment because Hillary Clinton wants to essentially abolish the Second Amendment," he said. "And if she puts Supreme Court justices on, she will decimate your Second Amendment."

At fault for his latest controversy, Trump later said in a tweet as the show aired, is the media, whom he has frequently accused of being biased against his campaign.

"Media desperate to distract from Clinton's anti-2A stance. I said pro-2A citizens must organize and get out vote to save our Constitution!" Trump tweeted Tuesday night.

The rebuttal echoed that of his running mate Mike Pence, who accused the press of doing most of Hillary’s work for her" at a Tuesday night rally in Pittsburgh.

“It seems like every single day the national press latches on to some other issue about my running mate, just each and every day of the week,” Pence said. “But you know what they’re not talking about? Anything having to do with Hillary Clinton.”

Trump's comments were widely panned from politicians across the spectrum Tuesday. In response, Priorities USA Action, a pro-Clinton super PAC, immediately circulated a video clip of Trump's remarks with the subject line, "Donald Trump Just Suggested That Someone Shoot Hillary Clinton," and a four-word response: “This is not OK.”

