Dan Rather excoriates Trump over his Hillary threat: ‘He crossed a line with dangerous potential’

In response to Donald Trump’s not-so-veiled threat to Hillary Clinton today at a rally in North Carolina, veteran journalist and newscaster Dan Rather took to his Facebook page and gave his thoughts on the matter.

What resulted was a searing indictment of Trump and even his fans, declaring that “no citizen who cares about the country and its future can ignore what Donald Trump said today,” adding that Trump’s comments suggesting that “Second Amendment people” can stop Hillary “crossed a line with dangerous potential.”

“This is no longer about policy, civility, decency or even temperament,” Rather wrote. “This is a direct threat of violence against a political rival. It is not just against the norms of American politics, it raises a serious question of whether it is against the law.”

“If any other citizen had said this about a Presidential candidate, would the Secret Service be investigating?”

Rather scoffed at the spin Trump’s people and his fans are already putting on his comments, saying that once words like that are spoken, they can’t be taken back.

“That is what inciting violence means.”

“To anyone who still pretends this is a normal election of Republican against Democrat, history is watching,” he warned. “And I suspect its verdict will be harsh. Many have tried to do a side-shuffle and issue statements saying they strongly disagree with his rhetoric but still support the candidate. That is becoming woefully insufficient. The rhetoric is the candidate.”

The legendary newsman added that Trump’s comments were not just another “outrageous moment” in the 2016 election. Rather insisted that now is the time to see how people who’ve supported Trump up until now can continue to justify themselves.

“We will see whether major newscasts explain how grave and unprecedented this is and whether the headlines in tomorrow’s newspapers do it justice. We will soon know whether anyone who has publicly supported Trump explains how they can continue to do.”

You can read Dan Rather’s entire Facebook post here.

Featured image via Dan Rather’s Facebook

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.

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