Trump, currently confronting sentencing and the prospect of imprisonment as the initial US president convicted of a felony, consistently insisted on Clinton’s incarceration throughout their 2016 election confrontation.
Donald Trump inaccurately stated that he never urged for his former election opponent Hillary Clinton to be imprisoned, stating on Fox News, “I didn’t say ‘lock her up’.”
During his campaign and for several years afterward, the “lock her up” chant gained notoriety at his rallies, with him openly expressing agreement with it or advocating for her imprisonment on numerous occasions.
During an interview on Fox, host Will Cain questioned the 77-year-old about the controversial call, specifically referencing Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state. “You famously said, regarding Hillary Clinton, ‘Lock her up.’ You declined to do that as president,” Cain said.
“I beat her,” Trump replied. “It’s easier when you win. And they always said, ‘lock her up,’ and I felt — and I could have done it, but I felt it would have been a terrible thing. And then this happened to me. And so, I may feel differently about it.”
He went on to adamantly deny joining in the chant, making it clear that he had no part in it whatsoever. “I didn’t say ‘lock her up,’ but the people said lock her up, lock her up.”
He added “Then, we won. And I say — and I said pretty openly, I said, all right, come on, just relax, let’s go, we’ve got to make our country great.”
US media fact-checked claims about Hillary Clinton’s alleged wrongdoing, while some social media users highlighted instances of Republicans supporting chants against her or calling for her imprisonment. In contrast, Donald Trump was recently convicted on multiple counts related to concealing payments to an adult film star.
On July 11, he is scheduled for sentencing. During his interview on Fox News last Sunday, he also admitted the chance of receiving a jail term or imprisonment, cautioning that although he was “fine with it,” such an outcome could be a “turning point” for his followers.