"Hillary Clinton to me is the Jane Fonda of the Vietnam," Baldasaro said in July. "She is a disgrace for the lies that she told those mothers about their children that got killed over there in Benghazi. She dropped the ball on over 400 emails requesting back up security. Something's wrong there."

"This whole thing disgusts me, Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason," he added. The US Secret Service then said it was investigating his remarks.

Baldasaro later said that he regretted "saying it the way I did" and blamed the "liberal media" for running with it.

At the time, Trump said he wasn't aware of Baldasaro's comments but told a local channel that he was "a very fine person."

"I will tell you he’s a very fine person," Trump told local New Hampshire TV. "Nobody wants to take care of the veterans in this country, who have been treated horribly, more than Al, so that's what I know," Trump said.

Baldasaro told BuzzFeed News later that year that he stood by his comments on Clinton, but contended that they were misunderstood.

In a tweet Friday, Baldasaro responded to the controversy over his attendance at the bill signing, saying, "Fake News, nothing new! Nobody advocated shooting Hillary, just an opinion in accordance with law & CONSTITUTION on treason."