Trump campaign defends controversial remarks on journalists being shot: "He was joking!"

Washington DC - Donald Trump's campaign is doing some heavy damage control after the presidential candidate seemingly advocated for violence against "fake news."

Officials with Donald Trump's campaign are playing defense after he said he wouldn't mind if journalists were shot at his recent rally.
Officials with Donald Trump's campaign are playing defense after he said he wouldn't mind if journalists were shot at his recent rally.  © Chip Somodevilla / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

During an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday, Trump addressed the bulletproof glass surrounding him, and described journalists in the press area as an extra line of defense against an active shooter situation, which could happen "any minute now."

"I have this piece of glass here, but all we have really over here is the fake news. And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news," Trump said, garnering laughs of approval from the crowd. "And I don't mind that so much."

Trump's remarks, made only two days before Election Day, were a reference to the assassination attempt he survived at a rally in Pennsylvania back in July.

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His latest comments about have been met with heavy backlash, as many critics have argued he was advocating for violence against journalists.

When asked by ABC News about them, Trump's Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt simply said, "Obviously he was joking."

Leavitt went on to argue that questions like this were "exhausting" and the media tends to pick "apart every single word that Donald Trump says when the majority of his speeches are focused on the issues that Americans care about."

Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung instead argued that Trump was actually expressing concern for the media, adding, "There can be no other interpretation of what was said."

Cover photo: Chip Somodevilla / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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