--- title: Donald Trump: Read His Second Amendment Speech description: "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is" canonical: https://time.com/4445813/donald-trump-second-amendment-speech/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-09T22:11:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:46:05.931Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read the Full Transcript of Donald Trump's 'Second Amendment' Speech og:description: "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks" og:url: https://time.com/4445813/donald-trump-second-amendment-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2e9c26171ea3d9f/6988a1c4656a3f5fe1bccae0/donald-trump1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4200 og:image:height: 2363 og:image:alt: Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Wilmington, NC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read the Full Transcript of Donald Trump's 'Second Amendment' Speech twitter:description: "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2e9c26171ea3d9f/6988a1c4656a3f5fe1bccae0/donald-trump1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read the Full Transcript of Donald Trump's 'Second Amendment' Speech > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=167091a1-d9fa-4d9d-b87b-b0eb341fb7af&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump’s ‘Second Amendment’ Remark at Rally [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump’s ‘Second Amendment’ Remark at Rally](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yb9vAMPg.m3u8) (0:23)  _Published 2016-08-09. Hillary Clinton’s campaign strongly condemned Donald Trump Tuesday over an aside at a rally that they said suggested that the Democratic nominee or federal judges should be shot._ by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Aug 9, 2016 10:11 PM UTC by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Aug 9, 2016 10:11 PM UTC Donald Trump created a major controversy at a rally in Wilmington, N.C. on Tuesday when he suggested that gun rights activists take matters into their own hands when it comes to the possibility of Hillary Clinton getting to appoint judges if she is elected president. “If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,” Trump said. “Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don’t know.” The comment immediately drew [criticism](http://time.com/4445735/former-secret-service-official-donald-trump-is-pretty-close-to-the-edge/) from those who saw it as instigating violence against the Democratic nominee or against future judicial appointees. Clinton immediately [condemned](http://time.com/4445467/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-second-amendment-judges/) the speech, and Trump’s campaign put out a statement saying the candidate was referring to the “power of unification” of voters turning out in support of Trump. Read the full text of the speech here: --- > “” --- ## Transcript Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment. By the way, [ SOUND ] and if she gets to pick, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know. 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