Donald Trump on Hillary Clinton's guards: 'Take their guns away, see what happens to her'

Donald Trump on Friday wondered aloud what would happen to Hillary Clinton should her Secret Service detail disarm.

"I think her bodyguards should drop all weapons. Disarm immediately," Trump said. "Take their guns away, let's see what happens to her."

"Take their guns away, OK? It'll be very dangerous," he added.

                                                                  Donald Trump

Trump's comment, which came as he criticized Clinton over gun rights, is not the first time he has called for Clinton's Secret Service detail to "disarm." But it is the first time he has wondered aloud what would happen to her should she suddenly be deprived of armed protection.

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said Trump's remarks "should be out of bounds for a presidential candidate."

"Whether this is done to provoke protesters at a rally or casually or even as a joke, it is an unacceptable quality in anyone seeking the job of commander in chief," Mook said in a statement, adding, "He is unfit to be President and it is time Republican leaders stand up to denounce this disturbing behavior in their nominee."

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The Secret Service declined to comment on Trump's remark, spokeswoman Catherine Milhoan said.

Trump argued Friday that he would be a staunch defender of the Second Amendment and said that Clinton would "destroy" the right to bear arms. Clinton has called for tightening access to guns, including instating universal background checks, but has never suggested she would seek to do away with the Second Amendment.

Trump made a similar comment after he accepted the National Rifle Association's endorsement last spring.

"They should immediately disarm and let's see how good they do. Let's see how they feel walking around without their guns or their body guards," Trump said of Clinton and her Secret Service detail during his speech to the gun lobby conference in May.

Friday's remark comes just more than a month after Trump made comments that were interpreted by many as a threat of violence against Clinton.

"Hillary wants to abolish -- essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, 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," Trump said during a rally in North Carolina in August.

The Trump campaign defended those comments as a call for increased political activity, but the Clinton campaign said unequivocally that Trump's comments were "dangerous" and irresponsible for a presidential candidate to make.

Donald Trump said the bodyguards assigned to his rival Hillary Clinton should "disarm immediately" and "see what happens."

"She goes around with armed bodyguards like you have never seen before. I think that her bodyguards should drop all weapons. They should disarm. Right? Right?" Trump said during a campaign rally here as the crowd cheered the idea. "I think they should disarm immediately. What do you think? Yes? Yes. Yeah. Take their guns away. She doesn't want guns. ... Let's see what happens to her. Take their guns away, okay? It would be very dangerous."

Trump's comment came as he described the violence in inner-city neighborhoods as "far more dangerous than Afghanistan." Trump said that "Clinton lives behind gates and walls and guards" and that working-class families "just want a fraction of the security enjoyed by our politicians and certainly enjoyed by her."

Trump argued, as he often does, that if the innocent people at the sites of recent mass shootings had been armed, the outcomes would have been different. The remarks were a version of a pro-gun argument that country would be safer if more people were armed.Trump made a similar comment in May when he addressed a National Rifle Association conference. Trump tweeted on May 21: "Crooked Hillary wants to get rid of all guns and yet she is surrounded by bodyguards who are fully armed. No more guns to protect Hillary!"

But the insinuation of gun-related violence against a rival is unprecedented in modern presidential politics. Trump also routinely claims Clinton wants to ban all guns or repeal the Second Amendment, which is false.

After doubting Clinton's stamina and ability to stand and campaign in a hot, crowded room earlier this week, Trump lobbed similar attacks on Friday (US time), saying the president needs to balance different responsibilities.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's health concerns have been a target of Trump. Photo / AP

"To do these things, you need a lot of energy. She doesn't have the energy," Trump said. "And, in my opinion, she is totally unfit to be the president of the United States."

At another point, Trump bragged that he often does multiple campaign events a day. "Do you think Hillary Clinton can get though one?" he asked the crowd.

Clinton recently rejoined the campaign trail after taking some time off. She fell ill at a 9/11 ceremony on Sunday. Only afterward, her campaign said she was recently diagnosed with pneumonia.

At the rally, Trump took on other criticisms he has faced for using anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant rhetoric. He said that when Democrats "are in trouble they always pull out the 'racist' word." He said that "people who warn about radical Islamic terrorism are not Islamophobes."

Trump faced protesters inside and outside his rally. He also introduced a new element to his introduction, taking the stage to music from "Les Miserables" against a backdrop reading: "Les Deplorables." The sign was a reference to Clinton labeling half of his supporters a "basket of deplorables," a comment she later said that she regretted.

Trump also pledged to undo President Obama's executive actions opening up relarions with Cuba, "unless the Castro Regime meets our demands."

After Trump concluded his speech, his campaign sent out a news release with his remarks, highlighting his comments about Cuba and Venezuela - but misspelling the latter "Venezuala."