Donald Trump Defends 'Bloodbath' Remark

Former President Donald Trump defended the recent "bloodbath" remark that he made at an Ohio rally, which has been widely interpreted as a threat of political violence.

The remark came on Saturday during a rally in Dayton, Ohio, where Trump was speaking at a "Get out the Vote" style event for GOP U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno. While discussing the economy and possible trade conflicts with China, Trump claimed that, if reelected in November, he would institute a 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made cars, and warned of a "bloodbath" if he was not elected.

"We're gonna put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you're not gonna be able to sell those guys if I get elected," Trump said while criticizing overseas manufacturing production. "Now, if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole. That's going to be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it. But they're not going to sell those cars. They're building massive factories."

While Trump's supporters and staff defended this comment as coming in the context of discussions about the auto industry, others interpreted it as a threat of political violence should he lose reelection to President Joe Biden. Some noted that, earlier during the same rally, Trump paid tribute to January 6, 2021, Capitol rioters, whom he has pledged to pardon if elected. Many have accused Trump of fomenting the riot at the U.S. Capitol building, with his rhetoric before and after the 2020 presidential election, including his infamous "will be wild" tweet.

In a post to Truth Social on Monday morning, Trump echoed the defenses already put forward by his supporters and claimed that the "bloodbath" remark was strictly made in the context of the auto industry.

"The Fake News Media, and their Democrat Partners in the destruction of our Nation, pretended to be shocked at my use of the word BLOODBATH, even though they fully understood that I was simply referring to imports allowed by Crooked Joe Biden, which are killing the automobile industry," the former president wrote. "The United Auto Workers, but not their leadership, fully understand what I mean. With the Electric Car Mandate being pushed by Biden, there soon won't be any cars made in the USA - UNLESS I'M ELECTED PRESIDENT, IN WHICH CASE AUTO MANUFACTURING WILL THRIVE LIKE NEVER BEFORE!!!"

Among those who condemned Trump's remark as a threat of political violence was Biden's 2024 campaign, which released a statement Saturday night via one of its official accounts on X, formerly Twitter, claiming that Trump "wants another Jan. 6."

"After opening the general election by meeting with authoritarian leaders and rallying alongside conspiracy theorists, Donald Trump continues to praise dictators, promise to pardon political violence, and launch racist attacks against Black and brown Americans," the statement read. "This is who Donald Trump is: a loser who gets beat by over 7 million votes and then instead of appealing to a wider mainstream audience doubles down on his threats of political violence. He wants another January 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge."

In defense of the former president's comments during the Ohio rally, Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign's communications director, told Newsweek in an email on Saturday night that "economically it will be a bloodbath because Crooked Joe Biden's policies have decimated working families."

Newsweek reached out to the Biden campaign via email on Monday morning for comment.