Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump Stands by Warning of 'Violence' if Dems Win Midterms
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
August 30, 2018

Share

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump urged evangelical leaders this week to get out the vote ahead of the upcoming midterm elections and warned of “violence” by opponents if they fail.
Trump made the dire warning at a White House dinner Monday evening attended by dozens of conservative Christian pastors, ministers and supporters of his administration.
Trump was stressing the stakes in November when he warned that, if Democrats win, they “will overturn everything that we’ve done and they’ll do it quickly and violently,” according to attendees and audio of his closed-door remarks obtained by media outlets, including The New York Times. He specifically mentioned self-described antifa, or anti-fascist groups, describing them as “violent people.”
Asked Wednesday what he meant, Trump told reporters, “I just hope there won’t be violence.”
“If you look at what happens … there’s a lot of unnecessary violence all over the world, but also in this country. And I don’t want to see it,” Trump said.

Bolstering Conservative Christian Causes

At the dinner, Trump talked up his administration’s efforts to bolster conservative Christian causes and urged those gathered to get their “people” to vote, warning the efforts could quickly be undone.

“I just ask you to go out and make sure all of your people vote. Because if they don’t vote we’re going to have a miserable two years and we’re going to have, frankly, a very hard period of time.” President Donald Trump via The New York Times
“I just ask you to go out and make sure all of your people vote,” Trump said, according to the Times. “Because if they don’t — it’s Nov. 6 — if they don’t vote we’re going to have a miserable two years and we’re going to have, frankly, a very hard period of time because then it just gets to be one election — you’re one election away from losing everything you’ve got.”
Ohio Pastor Darrell Scott, an early Trump supporter who attended the dinner, said he interpreted the comments differently than the media has portrayed them.
“It wasn’t any kind of dire warning,” Scott said, “… except the things that we’ve been working on as a body of voters will be reversed and overturned.”
“What he was saying,” Scott continued, is that “there are some violent people … but it wasn’t that we’ve got to worry about murder on the streets and chaos and anarchy … just that the things we’ve worked for will be overturned.”
Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council and another attendee, said he, too, interpreted Trump’s message as a warning not to be complacent.
While Trump did make a reference to antifa, Perkins told CNN, “I don’t think anybody in the room suggested that there was going to be violence across the nation.”
“I did not interpret him to say that the outcome of the election is going to lead (to) violence in the streets, and violence in the churches,” he told CNN.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Elderly Woman Evicted, Forced to Leave Dogs Behind. One Still Needs a Home.

DON'T MISS

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

DON'T MISS

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

DON'T MISS

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

DON'T MISS

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

DON'T MISS

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

DON'T MISS

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

DON'T MISS

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

DON'T MISS

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

DON'T MISS

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

UP NEXT

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

UP NEXT

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

UP NEXT

Golden State’s Jimmy Butler Injured in Game 2 Loss, His Status for Game 3 Unknown

UP NEXT

Jalen Green Makes Eight 3s to Help Rockets Even Series With Warriors

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Directs Investigations Over Gender-Affirming Care

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Cancels Hundreds of Grants for Police, Crime Victims

UP NEXT

Yelich’s 5th Career Slam and Bauers’ 2-Run Homer Power the Brewers to Win Over the Giants

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

15 hours ago

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

15 hours ago

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

16 hours ago

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

16 hours ago

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

16 hours ago

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

17 hours ago

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

17 hours ago

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

17 hours ago

Misty Her: Push for Fresno Unified Turnaround Starts Now With ‘Boots on the Ground’

18 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest 17 in Domestic Violence Crackdown

18 hours ago

Fresno Elderly Woman Evicted, Forced to Leave Dogs Behind. One Still Needs a Home.

A Fresno woman’s eviction has left heartbreak in its wake — not just for her, but for the four dogs she was forced to leave behind when auth...

56 minutes ago

After a Fresno woman was evicted and her home padlocked, her four dogs were left behind — and now the last one, a loyal German shepherd named Ginger, is waiting for a new home. (Mell's Mutts)
56 minutes ago

Fresno Elderly Woman Evicted, Forced to Leave Dogs Behind. One Still Needs a Home.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre speaks to reporters in New York on Aug. 27, 2019. Giuffre, a former victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring who said she was “passed around like a platter of fruit” as a teenager to rich and powerful predators, including Prince Andrew of Britain, died on Friday at her farm in Western Australia. She was 41. (Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times)
12 hours ago

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

15 hours ago

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

15 hours ago

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

15 hours ago

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

Selma Mayor Scott Robertson (left) has been charged with misdemeanor electioneering for allegedly campaigning near voters at a polling place during the November 2024 election. (Facebook)
16 hours ago

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

16 hours ago

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

16 hours ago

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend