Long before he became president, Donald Trump was using violence as a way to get his message across. At least that’s according to what he wrote in his book The Art of the Deal, which was published in 1987.

“Even in elementary school, I was a very assertive, aggressive kid,” Trump wrote.

“In the second grade I actually gave a teacher a black eye — I punched my music teacher because I didn’t think he knew anything about music and I almost got expelled. I’m not proud of that but it’s clear evidence that even early on I had a tendency to stand up and make my opinions known in a very forceful way. The difference now is that I like to use my brain instead of my fists.”

Whether that’s true or not, Trump likes to have other people do his dirty work for him, as evidenced during his rallies when he does everything he can to direct the crowd’s attention to protesters who interrupted his speeches.

“If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, OK? Just knock the hell … I promise you I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise,” he said at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in February of 2016.

Later that month at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump said that security was being too nice to protesters.

“He’s walking out with big high-fives, smiling, laughing,” Trump said, referring to a protester who was being escorted out. “I’d like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell you.”

There are more examples.

But in the wake of explosive devices being mailed to a handful of high-profile Democratic figures and a major media outlet this week, Trump is cooling down that brand of rhetoric.

“No nation can succeed that tolerates violence or the threat of violence as a method of political intimidation, coercion or control,” Trump said on Wednesday.

But the folks over at Mashable wanted to put together a little reminder that Trump’s conciliatory remarks might be too little, too late.

Watch:

Featured image via screen grab