MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday played a montage of clips of the many times President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE has directly called for violence from his supporters as a new debate over civility has dominated the political conversation.

The series of clips includes Trump telling supporters he'd like to punch a protester in the face and wondering if the "Second Amendment people" could stop then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonDemocratic groups using Bloomberg money to launch M in Spanish language ads in Florida The Hill's Campaign Report: Presidential polls tighten weeks out from Election Day More than 50 Latino faith leaders endorse Biden MORE.

ADVERTISEMENT

"Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is," Trump said at a campaign rally.

Trump also encouraged his supporters at another event to "knock the crap" out of any protesters causing trouble.

"I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees," Trump said.

The montage served as a counterpoint to the criticism Rep. Maxine Waters Maxine Moore WatersPowell, Mnuchin stress limits of current emergency lending programs Pelosi: House will stay in session until agreement is reached on coronavirus relief Omar invokes father's death from coronavirus in reaction to Woodward book MORE (D-Calif.) has faced after she called for people to confront Trump administration officials in public.

Some interpreted Waters's remarks as a call for violence, and Trump responded on Monday by saying that Waters should be careful what she wished for.



Co-host Joe Scarborough blasted that criticism once the montage concluded, saying that Waters's statements, while indefensible, were not a call to violence.

“Yesterday we saw supporters of the White House and others, supporters of Donald Trump, melt like precious snowflakes in the Arizona sun because Maxine Waters said some things that were very regrettable,” he said.

"Of course, you can say ‘Well wait, is she really inciting violence?’ because that’s what a lot of people on Twitter were saying she was doing. You can look at those words and try to figure out if she was. Of course the president’s response — ‘Be careful what you ask for’ — actually was an incitement to violence.”

The montage came after a week in which many White House officials faced public protests while dining out in public. On Friday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a restaurant in Virginia, which many people seized on as unfair political targeting.

Then on Saturday, Waters said that the protests in public venues should continue.

"For these members of his Cabinet who remain and try to defend him, they're not going to be able to go to a restaurant. They're not going to be able to stop at a gas station. They're not going to be able to shop at a department store," Waters said at a rally in Los Angeles.