State Rep. Al Baldasaro and then-candidate Donald Trump speak in 2016. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images 2020 elections Trump praises N.H. lawmaker who called for shooting Hillary Clinton

President Donald Trump on Thursday praised a New Hampshire Republican who previously called for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be shot by firing squad.

Speaking at a rally in Manchester, N.H., Trump gave a shoutout to state Rep. Al Baldasaro, who had previously served as an informal adviser during his 2016 campaign. Baldasaro had been diagnosed with cancer, Trump said during the rally, and he added that his apparent recovery and successful treatment were a testament to the changes to the Veterans Choice Program that Trump signed into law last year.


Trump also praised Baldasaro for making it to “every rally I ever gave in New Hampshire.”

“Right from the beginning. I got so tired of looking at him; he’d always be here,” Trump said.

While advising Trump in the summer of 2016, Baldasaro called Clinton a “disgrace” for her role in responding to the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, and said that she “should be put in the firing line and shot for treason.”

CNN later reported the Secret Service was investigating the remarks at the time, and the Trump campaign disavowed what Baldasaro said.

Still, Baldasaro was invited to the White House in June 2017 for a bill-signing ceremony, again prompting Trump’s team to distance itself from his remarks. Baldasaro said on Twitter at the time: “Nobody advocated shooting Hillary, just an opinion in accordance with law & CONSTITUTION on treason.”