Donald Trump Denies Saying “Lock Her Up” About Hillary Clinton in 2016
Washington: On Sunday, Donald Trump denied claims that he called for his former election rival, Hillary Clinton, to be jailed, asserting to Fox News, “I didn’t say ‘lock her up’.” This statement contradicts his repeated demands during the 2016 election campaign for Clinton to be imprisoned.
The “lock her up” chant became a hallmark of Trump’s rallies during and after the campaign, with Trump often expressing agreement or explicitly calling for Clinton’s incarceration.
In the interview aired Sunday, Fox host Will Cain questioned Trump about the chant, which referred to Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State. Cain mentioned, “You famously said, regarding Hillary Clinton, ‘Lock her up.’ You declined to do that as president.”
Trump responded, “I beat her. It’s easier when you win. And they always said ‘lock her up,’ and I felt — and I could have done it, but I felt it would have been a terrible thing. And then this happened to me. And so I may feel differently about it.”
He further denied participating in the chant, stating, “I didn’t say ‘lock her up,’ but the people said ‘lock her up, lock her up.’ Then, we won. And I said — and I said pretty openly, I said, all right, come on, just relax, let’s go, we’ve got to make our country great.”
US media quickly fact-checked Trump’s claim, and social media users shared compilations of him agreeing with or explicitly calling for Clinton to be jailed.
Hillary Clinton, wife of former president Bill Clinton, was investigated for her use of a private email server, but no charges were filed.
Recently, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to an adult film star ahead of the 2016 election. His sentencing is scheduled for July 11. In the Fox News interview, Trump acknowledged the possibility of facing jail time, cautioning that while he was “ok with it,” such a move could be a “breaking point” for his supporters.
This warning has struck a chord in a nation already anxious about the potential for political violence as the November 5 presidential election approaches.
