Former President Donald Trump has used violent language to describe what he wanted to do to the former first lady Michelle Obama.
The Republican presidential nominee told attendees of a campaign rally in North Carolina on Monday that he was pressing his staff for permission to go on the attack after Obama condemned his values and policies the night before.
"She hit me the other day," Trump said. "I was going to say to my people, 'Am I allowed to hit her now?'"
Trump appears to have been referencing Obama's Sunday evening rally during which she argued parents could not reasonably vote for the Republican presidential nominee.
"There is no way that we can tell our kids that anything is possible, that we should be open and accepting of every voice and perspective, and then give them a leader who contradicts all of those lessons," Obama reportedly said.
“If this election goes the wrong way, this backward vision of America being spewed by Kamala’s opponent – it will infect all of our lives no matter how old we are.”
Trump on Monday went on to mimic a conversation between himself and staff members, whom he derisively referred to as "geniuses," and who apparently have been urging the former president to tone down the rhetoric.
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"They said, 'Take it easy, sir,'" Trump said.
"Well, what do you mean?" Trump replied to himself. "She said bad about me. I can't hit back?"
The conversation continued with Trump's imaginary staff pleading with the former president to "just relax."
Trump asked the crowd if that was "good or bad advice" and got a disturbing reply.
"They say hit back," Trump said. "I'd actually love to hit back, but we'll hold it a little while."
Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign shared the video on X where Trump's comment caused a stir.
"He was never nice to the Obamas," said The Hill opinion writer Tara Dublin. "He also looks & sounds like he died last week but no one wants to tell him."
CNN senior reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere suggested Trump's remark was not strategic considering a historic election trend that could torpedo his campaign as conservative women quietly vote for Harris.
"In a race that could be decided by the growing gender gap," he wrote, "Trump’s closing message on Michelle Obama is: “am I allowed to hit her now?”
MSNBC analyst Brian Tyler Cohen acknowledged Trump was speaking metaphorically but argued the comment was in poor taste all the same.
"Trump asking if he's "allowed to hit" Michelle Obama as a closing message is somehow just too on the nose," he wrote.
Watch the video below or click here.
