Trump campaign backtracks claim that he bought a Glock handgun in South Carolina after it became clear that would be illegal
AP Photo/Chris Carlson
- The Trump campaign claimed that he bought a Glock handgun from a South Carolina gun store.
- In a video posted on X, a Trump spokesman wrote: "President Trump purchases a @GLOCKInc in South Carolina!"
- But his campaign later backtracked and said that the former president didn't make the purchase.
Former President Donald Trump on Monday wanted to purchase a Glock handgun during a campaign swing through South Carolina, with his campaign writing that the ex-president went through wth the purchase before backtracking on the claim.
A video posted on X by Trump spokesman Steven Cheung — which was later deleted — showed that the gun in question featured a print of the former president's face.
Trump stopped at the Palmetto State Armory in Summerville, S.C., to look at guns after meeting with campaign volunteers in the critical early-voting state.
In the video, Trump pointed to the Glock and said "Wow," before adding: "I've got to buy one. I want to buy one."
In the now-deleted X post, Cheung wrote: "President Trump purchases a @GLOCKInc in South Carolina!"
While Trump remains the frontrunner in the GOP race for the White House, he has also been indicted in four criminal cases this year, and therefore cannot purchase a gun under the law.
Amid the speculation, Caitlyn Byrd, a politics reporter at the The Post and Courier, wrote on X that Trump did not purchase a gun on Monday.
"Trump *DID NOT* buy a gun today. He looked at them. There is a difference," she wrote.
—Caitlin Byrd (@MaryCaitlinByrd) September 25, 2023
In a later post, Byrd wrote: "To be clear: I did not see Trump actually purchase this gun — or any other — during his stop at Palmetto State Armory, but he did ask questions and looked at three different firearms."
Soon after, CNN politics reporter Alayna Treene posted on X that Cheung informed the network that Trump did not actually purchase the Glock while at the Palmetto State Armory.
Insider reached out to the Trump campaign for further comment.