Watch CNN Commentator Rip Donald Trump For Lying About Clinton's Gun Position
Angela Rye: “This Is Not An Issue For Pandering To NRA Gun-Toting Members. This Is About Life And Death In This Country At The Hand Of Gun Violence”
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
From the May 20 edition of CNN's CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin:
BROOKE BALDWIN (HOST): Angela Rye, we heard Mr. Trump say Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment. Is that true?
ANGELA RYE: Of course it's not, Brooke. He repeated that lie three times today and, of course, has repeated it all throughout this month. It has been disproven by PolitiFact. They called the Trump campaign to respond to the claims that he's made for some time now, and they couldn't get a response. They've also talked to Hillary Clinton's campaign, and they made it abundantly clear that Hillary Clinton wants to do no such thing. What she has continued to say, as every other well meaning politician and human being in this country, is ensure that there is a proper balance between human beings -- American's right to bear arms and what actually happens here. The fact that there are shootings that happen. I also want to draw your attention, Brooke, to a quote from Donald Trump from, of course, his beloved Twitter account. And that is from 2012 when he said, “President Obama spoke for me and every American in his remarks in Newtown, Connecticut.” And of course, that was in December, 2012, after children lost their lives to gun violence. This is not an issue for pandering to NRA gun-toting members. This is about life and death in this country, Brooke, at the hand of gun violence. Hillary Clinton has touted the importance of background checks, and at one point Donald Trump in his right mind did the same thing. It is time for him to find himself, his conscience, and be honest about the detrimental impacts of gun violence in this country.
BORIS EPSHTEYN: First of all, Angela, politicizing Newtown is not the right way to go. Politicizing deaths is not the right way to go.
RYE: No, and actually, you know what else is not the right way to go is to politicize the Second Amendment to lie. That's really not the right way to go.
[...]
EPSHTEYN: I'm not sure why you speak for well meaning Americans. And it is exactly why --
RYE: Because I'm a well meaning American.
EPSHTEYN: -- Donald Trump and the Republicans are going to be taking the White House, because people like Angela and the Democrats and liberals think they are the only well meaning ones.
RYE: That's never what I said, Boris.
EPSHTEYN: And all these folks that support the Second Amendment are not well meaning.
RYE: That's not what I said, Boris.
EPSHTEYN: Go ahead and denigrate swaths of the American populace all you want, but that's why you will lose in November.
RYE: OK, well I know that this is what your candidate does, right? You take parts of sentences and turn them into something that you say authoritatively.
[...]
EPSHTEYN: I'm not bullying, you [inaudible].
RYE: OK, well you weren't saying anything.
EPSHTEYN: Go ahead.
RYE: The point that I'm raising to you is when you go ahead and you say something authoritatively and just because you parse my words doesn't make it fact. Hillary Clinton has never said, Boris -- Hillary Clinton has never said that she wants to abolish the Second Amendment. Yes or no. Is that true or false?
EPSHTEYN: Dismantling the Second Amendment is the same thing as abolishing it.
RYE: OK, so dismantling is different than ensuring that there are proper balances, checks and balances in this --
EPSHTEYN: Oh, so you are agreeing that Hillary Clinton wants to dismantle the Second Amendment.
RYE: No, I'm not. No, I'm not, I'm actually calling you out on parsing words, which is what you all do best.
BALDWIN: Let me jump in. Let me jump in. I do know that Hillary Clinton has said -- I've done a lot on gun violence, and she has said that, you know, she wants to protect responsible gun owners. So I don't know if that's quite equating it to abolishing, but that does reference the Second Amendment.
[...]
RYE: What we're doing today is talking about Donald Trump's remarks before the NRA. I brought something up because it's not politicizing the issue. What I'm telling you is in his right mind at one point, Donald Trump understood the importance of gun control in this country. And now conveniently before the NRA, before NRA members, he is bragging on how many guns his sons own, he is bragging about the fact that he is a NRA member and that they are NRA members and he is lying. He lied three times about Hillary Clinton's position on the Second Amendment.
EPSHTEYN: He's lying about being an NRA member?
RYE: You should listen to my full sentence and let me get to the period. What I said was he lied about her wanting to abolish the Second Amendment.
EPSHTEYN: Fair enough, but you're not getting to the point.
RYE: You don't want to address that point because you know it's a lie as well.
Previously:
NRA Debuts 2016 Conspiracy: Hillary Clinton Is Coming For Your Guns
Trump Parrots Right-Wing Media’s Bogus Claims About Clinton’s Gun Policies
VIDEO: The Repugnant Way The NRA Talks About Hillary Clinton