Former President Trump scrambled Monday to walk back his weekend rant that the country would be plunged into a “bloodbath” if he doesn’t win back the White House.
After a day of controversy over his remarks, Trump asserted that he was only discussing the auto industry and not calling for violence if President Biden wins reelection in November.
“The Fake News Media … pretended to be shocked at my use of the word BLOODBATH, even though they fully understood that I was simply referring to imports … which are killing the automobile industry,” Trump said on his social media site.
Trump blasted Biden policies promoting electric vehicles, claiming they would destroy U.S. auto manufacturing, even though the industry has returned to economic health under the Democratic president.
Trump regularly makes outrageous statements about the economy and world events, blaming Biden for everything from Chinese imports and undocumented immigration to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The former president paints the coming clash with Biden in cataclysmic terms, even suggesting that the nation could be headed for a civil war if he doesn’t win back the White House.
On Saturday, he praised the convicted Jan. 6 attackers as “hostages” and “patriots.”
Trump left little doubt that he was discussing more than just the impact on the auto industry if he falls short in November.
“If I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it — it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the country, that’ll be the least of it,” Trump said in the Saturday speech.
Democrats slammed Trump’s speech as one more example of his propensity for violent rhetoric.
Donald Trump’s threat of ‘bloodbath’ if Joe Biden beats him puts GOP supporters on defensive
But Republicans and MAGA hard-liners insist the controversy is overblown and the former president was only making a narrow point about the impact of trade policy on the auto industry.
