At an Arizona rally, President Donald Trump said, “In the old days we used to shoot leakers,” The Independent reported, before criticizing media coverage during his campaign ahead of November’s U.S. midterms.
At a Wednesday event in Bullhead City, Trump said, “In the old days we used to shoot leakers, you know.” He then compared the media broadly with leakers, saying it was almost as bad because it spread false information. He also accused the media of inventing sources, The Independent reported.
Trump stopped to search the crowd for a woman whose online interview he said he had watched earlier. The Independent reported that he told attendees she would keep supporting him even if asked whether he had murdered someone.
The episode echoed a remark from Trump’s 2016 campaign, when he said he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and still retain his voters, the outlet noted.
Trump was in Bullhead City to support Rep. Andy Biggs, the Republican candidate for Arizona governor. The Independent said Trump urged voters to treat the midterms as though he himself were on the ballot and had recently held rallies in Texas, Ohio and Alaska. The outlet also reported that five senior House Republicans privately voiced concern that their party could lose its House majority.
The Independent cited a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing that 65% of Americans disapproved of Trump’s performance. It said about 80% of voters named the economy and cost of living among the top election issues.
The same rally included Trump’s remarks about doctors and an attendee who might suffer a heart attack, covered in EconoTimes’ earlier account of the exchange. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) lists Nov. 3, 2026, as the date of the midterm elections.
