"I could . . . shoot somebody" on NYC's 5th Ave and "wouldn't lose any voters" (video)
On January 23, 2016, in Sioux Center, Iowa, Trump told a crowd of his followers:
I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters.1
See the video above, also here or here. Trump made a shooting motion with his hand and raised his voice at "shoot somebody" to drive home the flagrant gangsterism of his claim.
With that statement and accompanying gesture, Trump drove home his kinship with the likes of "the late, great gangster Al Capone," who he praised with those words. Trump also touted praise he received from a notorious Mafia killer, "Sammy the Bull" Gravano. At the same time, Trump mocked his followers and every one of his voters as being grossly lacking in moral judgment.
- The Washington Post, "Donald Trump: They say I could 'shoot somebody' and still have support," January 23, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/23/donald-trump-i-could-shoot-somebody-and-still-have-support/; The Des Moines Register, "Trump: I could 'shoot somebody' and not lose votes," January 23, 2016, https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2016/01/23/trump-could-shoot-somebody-and-not-lose-votes/79225358/.
