Scarborough: Trump Crossed the Line With Second Amendment Comments

GOP nominee Donald Trump has crossed a line with his comments that some are interpreting as a threat of violence against rival Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, a panel on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program agreed, and show host Joe Scarborough publicly issued a call through an opinion piece for The Washington Post for Republicans to "dump Trump."

In his Washington Post opinion piece, Scarborough said that Trump has had a series of missteps that would have disqualified any other candidate, but that on Tuesday he crossed a "bloody line" and it was time for Republicans to dump him.

"Trump and his supporters have been scrambling wildly all day to explain away the inexplicable, but they can stop wasting their time," said Scarborough in the opinion piece. "The GOP nominee was clearly suggesting that some of the 'Second Amendment people; among his supporters could kill his Democratic opponent were she to be elected."

Scarborough and his MSNBC colleagues continued the discussion on the show Wednesday.

"His comment about the Second Amendment yesterday —in a country that is awash in weapons and guns, in a country that is filled to a certain extent with a lot of anger over what's happened over the last 10 or 15 years — his candidacy is now toxic to democracy," political commentator Mike Barnicle said on the program about Trump's statement, which his supporters are downplaying as a joke.

On Tuesday, Trump told a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina that "Hillary wants to essentially abolish the Second Amendment . . . If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don't know."

"I was watching this live and I was actually writing something at the time, and it caught my ear to the point I stopped and rewound the DVR," said NBC's Willie Geist. "You don't need a PhD in grammar, you don't need a PhD in logic, because what he said was, 'If she gets to pick the judges.' Which means she is already president. Nominees don't get to pick Supreme Court justices. She is already president."

Bloomberg Politics editor Mark Halperin agreed that Trump's supporters can push back on the controversy, but "you cannot say something like that," and Random House editor Jon Meacham, a frequent panelist, called Trump's comments "disqualifying," and that Trump "crossed the Rubicon" with his statement.

"I was like the guy in the back that turned to his wife and said, 'Oh, my God, did you hear that?'" said Meacham. "It's very clear, common sense what he meant."

Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity that he meant the comments to unite supporters, noted Scarborough in his Washington Post piece.

The nation is now in "uncharted waters" where the election is concerned, but there are now clear steps that need to be taken, the show host wrote, calling for the Secret Service to interview Trump and ask him to explain his "threatening comments."

Also, Scarborough said that House Speaker Paul Ryan and all Republican leaders should denounce Trump's statements and revoke their endorsements, and the GOP should start examining its options to remove Trump as the party nominee.

Trump's words also lead to a heated argument between Scarborough and co-host Mika Brzezinski on Wednesday's show, after Scarborough noted that because she's a Democrat, "it means nothing coming from you" to oppose Trump's words.

He clarified that he meant her comments mean "nothing coming from a Democrat to these Republicans," and she shot back that "Democrats are going to win the election."

"Let me say this to my Republican Party," Scarborough said. "You are letting Donald Trump destroy the party. And you've done it from the beginning."

Brzezinski called for Ryan to "go home" and spend time with his family.

"Look at your children in the eyes and look at your wife in the eyes and really ask if you are doing the right thing," she said. "You are doing the wrong thing by supporting this candidate."