Trump Again Threatens to Take Action Against Flag Burners
Trump warns that something could be done against those who burn the flag.
—FAYETTEVILLE, NC -- The President-elect, returned to the trail Tuesday night in the second stop on his "Thank You" tour -- introducing his defense secretary pick, Marine Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis to a crowd in North Carolina.
During the rally, he touched on a wide range of topics, but focused much of his energy on the military and patriotism just a few miles from Fort Bragg.
Trump once again appeared to take aim at those who would burn the American flag, saying that he would determine what should be done.
"We love our flag. And we don't like it when we see people ripping up our flag and burning our flag. We don't like it. And we'll see what we're going to do about that. Okay? We're going to see,” he told the crowd of thousands gathered at the Crown Coliseum.
His comments echoed those from last month.
The President-elect also commented on flag burning during his first stop on his ‘Thank You’ tour in Cincinnati last week.
"And do you agree with my stance that if people burned the American flag, there should be consequences. Right?"
But Trump’s current stance appears to be in opposition to what he believed in 2015.
In an interview with David Letterman on Jan. 8, 2015, just months before he launched his campaign, Trump agreed with Letterman "100 percent" that flag burning is a form of expression.
Trump introduced Gen. Mattis as "the right person to lead our defense department,” he said told the crowd.
"Mad Dog" plays no games, right?”
Mattis, former U.S. Central Command & Marine Corps commander, is not yet seven years removed from service and requires a congressional waiver to serve in the position. On Tuesday, speaking briefly at the rally, Mattis expressed his desire to serve.
"I look forward to being the civilian leader so long as the congress gives me the waiver and the senate votes to consent,” Mattis said.
Trump also touted a deal with Japanese Corporation, SoftBank, that he says will bring $50 billion and 50,000 jobs to the U.S.
"Did anybody see it? Masa,” Trump said in North Carolina. "Great guy of Japan...He's pledged that he's going to put $50 billion into the United States because of our victory. He wasn't investing in our country. 50 billion. 50,000 jobs. 50,000 jobs he's going to be investing in."
As Trump took his victory lap in front of loyal supporters in North Carolina, Vice-President elect Mike Pence addressed a Heritage Foundation gala in Washington, making the case to the capitol's conservative leaders that Trump will follow a shared agenda.
"He loves this country, he loves everything that has made America great before and he's going to fight every day to make America great again," Pence said to the crowd at the event, which was held in a ballroom at Trump's Washington hotel.
Related Topics
Related Stories
ABC News Live