Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) on Wednesday knocked “conservative media” and clarified comments made in an interview after news outlets reported on a clip in which she appeared to say former President Trump needs to be “shot” and then quickly corrected herself to say “stopped.”
“It is unfortunate that conservative media has taken an instance where I misspoke and misrepresented it as though I advocate for violence–I unequivocally do not. I wish former President Trump no ill will or harm, only that justice be served in his case as with every other American who must face penalties for wrongdoing. I do believe and did intend to say that he must be ‘stopped,’” Plaskett said in a release from her office.
In an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart,” Plaskett was discussing Trump’s retention of classified materials after his time in the White House, for which he now faces federal criminal charges, when she seemingly said of Trump, “and he needs to be shot — stopped.”
Fox News, the New York Post and the Washington Examiner were among the outlets that covered her initial remarks, all of which noted her apparent verbal gaffe. Conservatives also shared the clip on Twitter.
“I do not advocate for anyone to shoot former President Trump. I do not encourage or condone political violence nor behavior that goes against democratic principles at any time,” Plaskett said Tuesday. The Virgin Islands delegate is a non-voting member of Congress.