--- description: "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is" title: Read the Full Transcript of Donald Trump's 'Second Amendment' Speech image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2e9c26171ea3d9f/6988a1c4656a3f5fe1bccae0/donald-trump1.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read the Full Transcript of Donald Trump's 'Second Amendment' Speech by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 9, 2016 10:11 PM CUT  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the audience during a campaign event at Trask Coliseum on August 9, 2016 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the audience during a campaign event at Trask Coliseum on August 9, 2016 in Wilmington, North Carolina.Sara D. Davis—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 9, 2016 10:11 PM CUT 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/ "undefined") 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/ "undefined") 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: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4445813/donald-trump-second-amendment-speech/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4445813/donald-trump-second-amendment-speech/"},"headline":"Read the Full Transcript of Donald Trump's 'Second Amendment' Speech","datePublished":"2016-08-09T22:11:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:52:30.238Z","description":"\"If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is\"","url":"https://time.com/4445813/donald-trump-second-amendment-speech/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2e9c26171ea3d9f/6988a1c4656a3f5fe1bccae0/donald-trump1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2e9c26171ea3d9f/6988a1c4656a3f5fe1bccae0/donald-trump1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Wilmington, NC","caption":"Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Wilmington, NC","creditText":"Sara D. Davis—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4445813/donald-trump-second-amendment-speech/","name":"Read the Full Transcript of Donald Trump's 'Second Amendment' Speech"}}]}] ```