Trump in Colorado, telling crowd that a bomb just went off in NY. Then says he’s up 4 points in new poll. pic.twitter.com/3CN20XqwmL
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) September 18, 2016
The New York Times‘ Dave Itzkoff posted this video to Twitter in the midst of all the confusion surrounding the Saturday night explosion in Manhattan‘s Chelsea neighborhood. The incident was the subject of a few theories (including an underground train derailing), but in the end, police discovered that the explosion took place in a dumpster. At least 29 people were injured, although no fatalities occurred, and a second explosive device was located a short time later. The event followed a Saturday morning pipe bomb explosion at the Semper Five 5K not too far away in New Jersey.
This video features Trump’s reaction to the Manhattan explosion. He heard about the event as he hit the Colorado Springs tarmac, and his take functioned as news for rally attendees. He labelled the situation as a “bomb” before authorities publicly confirmed the incident: “Just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York, and nobody knows exactly what’s going on.” Then Trump began to repeatedly tout the need for toughness: “We are living in a time when we’ve got to get very tough, folks. We’ve got to get very, very tough.” He kept on going with the tough talk: “We are going to get tough and smart and vigilant. We’re gonna end it. And we’ll see what it is.” And then he did some boasting: “I’m so thrilled to be in Colorado. And a new poll from Emerson just came out and we’re up four points in Colorado!”
Too soon on that last point? As Mike Pence would say, “That’s Donald Trump.”
Trump’s reaction landed long before NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference where he labelled the Chelsea explosion as “intentional” but not yet approaching the description of a “terrorist” act. And de Blasio even hesitated to use the word “bomb” and said it was “too early” to make that call. This assessment could change in the days to come, and de Blasio and NYC authorities are being careful not to jump to conclusions. This has angered many people on social media, but Trump spurred a similar reaction by commenting on an unfolding investigation before facts surfaced.
Like Trump, Hillary Clinton — from her campaign plane — used the word “bombings” to describe the NYC incident. However, she mentioned being briefed by New York authorities, and this video didn’t surface until at least the explosion itself was confirmed. Clinton was also rounding up the event with a response to the New Jersey pipe 5K bombing. She expressed support for first responders and stressed the importance of waiting for facts before expressing opinions about the incident.
Hillary Clinton, on her campaign plane, responds to explosion in NYC pic.twitter.com/4tfyUE2vNc
— Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) September 18, 2016
Just for kicks, here’s the full Trump speech from Colorado Springs.
