Trump campaign says his comments about shooting 'through the fake news' have 'nothing to do with the Media being harmed'

Former President Trump’s campaign said his remarks that he would not “mind” a person shooting “through the fake news” at a rally Sunday have “nothing to do with the Media being harmed, or anything else.”

At a rally in Lititz, Pa., on Sunday, the former president noted glass barriers around him while he was speaking, pointing out their locations, then saying “but all we have really over here is the fake news, right?”

“And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news,” Trump continued. “And I don’t mind that so much. … I don’t mind.”

Following the comments, the former president’s campaign said he “was brilliantly talking about the two assassination attempts on his own life, including one that came within 1/4 of an inch from killing him, something that the Media constantly talks and jokes about.”

“The President’s statement about protective glass placement has nothing to do with the Media being harmed, or anything else. It was about threats against him that were spurred on by dangerous rhetoric from Democrats,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement. “In fact, President Trump was stating that the Media was in danger, in that they were protecting him and, therefore, were in great danger themselves, and should have had a glass protective shield, also.”

“There can be no other interpretation of what was said. He was actually looking out for their welfare, far more than his own!" Cheung continued.

Vice President Harris’s campaign posted a clip of the former president’s Sunday comments on the social platform X. In response to the clip, Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer stated Harris was “talking about faith in church and doing good for our neighbors” at that moment.

Trump’s comments about a person shooting through “the fake news” follow other controversial comments related to guns and shooting he made about former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) this week. 

"She’s a radical war hawk,” Trump said on Thursday at a fireside chat with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. "Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK. Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face. You know, they’re all war hawks when they’re sitting in Washington in a nice building saying, 'Oh, gee, we’ll, let’s send — let’s send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy.'"

The Hill has reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.