Donald Trump’s supporters have come to his defense after he told a rally that there would be a “bloodbath” in America if President Joe Biden was reelected.
Pro-Trump politicians rushed to clarify that the former president was talking about a bloodbath of redundancies in the automobile industry, not a violent uprising by Trump supporters.
The Republican made his comments at a political rally in Ohio on Saturday.
“If you’re listening, President Xi—and you and I are friends—but he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now[…]you’re going to not hire Americans and you’re going to sell the cars to us, no. We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected,” Trump said, per NBC News.
“Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole—that’s gonna be the least of it,” he said. “It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars. They’re building massive factories.”
Georgia congresswoman and ardent Trump supporter, Marjorie Taylor Greene, was quick to blame Democrats and the media for any misunderstanding.
“The Democrats and the media lie constantly about what Pres Trump says. They twist his phrases and sarcasm and tell the public he said something he did not. When Trump said there will be a bloodbath if Biden wins, he was talking about the auto industry and he’s RIGHT!” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Newsweek sought email comment from Trump’s campaign on Sunday.
J.D. Vance, a Republican senator for Ohio, said Trump was talking about the consequences for American car companies if Biden continues to support Chinese electric vehicles, or EVs.
“Donald Trump said that a bloodbath would happen to the American auto industry if Biden kept on promoting Chinese made EVs. He of course is 100 percent correct. All other reporting about his ‘bloodbath’ comment is complete propaganda. The media should be ashamed,” Vance wrote on X on Sunday.
The Democrats and the media lie constantly about what Pres Trump says.
They twist his phrases and sarcasm and tell the public he said something he did not.
When Trump said there will be a bloodbath if Biden wins, he was talking about the auto industry and he’s RIGHT! https://t.co/ktLlxfL905
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) March 17, 2024
Texas Rep. Chip Roy said that it was Democrats who are creating a bloodbath in America, not Trump.
He wrote on X on Sunday that “Radical Progressive Democrats, not Trump, have caused an actual bloodbath for hard-working Americans with mass releases of illegal aliens, expensive job-killing ‘climate’ regulations, & race-baiting division of our nation.”
Trump, who was in Ohio for a campaign stop at the Buckeye Values PAC rally, also honored and thanked the January 6 rioters in Ohio speech.
“Please rise for the horribly and unfairly treated January 6 hostages,” an announcer said. Trump then saluted and the crowd stood as the “J6 Hostages’ Song,” a rendition of the National Anthem, played. The song, “Justice for All” by the J6 Prison Choir, features the voice of Trump reciting the pledge of allegiance.
Trump described the rioters as “unbelievable patriots.”
“Thank you very much, and you see the spirit from the hostages, and that’s what they are—hostages,” he said.
More than 1,265 people, including Trump, have been charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for their alleged involvement in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, with many already convicted and serving sentences.
Trump, who campaigns for president with the slogan Make America Great, is accused of inciting the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building in January, 2021.
Last year, the former president was indicted on four counts by the DOJ, including conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.
Trump has maintained his innocence, accusing prosecutors of investigating him for political purposes. He has defended his conduct on January 6 by saying that he eventually told the rioters to “go home now.” The former president has also said he “did nothing wrong on Jan 6th” in a Truth Social post in 2022, calling the attack on the nation’s Capitol peaceful and patriotic.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.