'Dumb as a rock': Donald Trump rips 'lightweight' Don Lemon after the CNN anchor has a heated segment
In the tweet, Trump praised Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who is running for Congress in Florida as a Republican, who defended the Republican nominee's comments from a Tuesday rally in North Carolina.
".@dbongino You were fantastic in defending both the Second Amendment and me last night on @CNN," he posted. "Don Lemon is a lightweight - dumb as a rock."
During his rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, Trump elicited a firestorm as he discussed what he believes to be the threat that Clinton poses to Second Amendment rights.
"If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people - maybe there is. I don't know," Trump said, adding, "Speaking to the NRA folks - who are great. If you don't do the right thing, you're not going to have a Second Amendment, or you're not going to have much of it left."
The comment faced immediate backlash, as many accused Trump of suggesting that gun-rights advocates should use some kind of force to stop Clinton from appointing Supreme Court justices that disagree with their views on the issue.
Both Trump's and Clinton's campaigns released statements on the matter shortly afterward. Trump's campaign attributed the controversy to "dishonest media," while the Clinton campaign condemned the idea of violence in American politics. Prominent Democrats said it was the equivalent to leveling an "assassination threat"
Lemon and Bongino had a heated back and forth over their disagreement on what Trump actually meant by his statement at the rally.