Trump boasts he could ‘murder someone’ and not lose MAGA faithful after saying leakers ‘should be shot’

Read the original at The Independent ↗
Cite

Croft, A. (2026, October 15). Trump boasts he could ‘murder someone’ and not lose MAGA faithful after saying leakers ‘should be shot’. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-murder-speech-arizona-maga-supporters-b3067387.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-10-15 · by Alex Croft

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump made controversial statements during a rally in Arizona, claiming that he could commit murder without losing support from his followers. He also criticized leakers, suggesting they should be "shot," comparing them to the media as sources of false information. These remarks come amid low approval ratings and concerns among Republicans about potential losses in the upcoming midterm elections due to issues like economic hardships and high living costs.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-15, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On October 14, 2026, President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, part of his midterm election push. At the event, he called for government leakers to be "shot," drawing applause from the crowd. The visit aimed to boost Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Andy Biggs against incumbent Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs. During the rally, Trump also criticized media coverage of the ongoing war with Iran and warned that Democrats would "destroy our country" if elected. He made these statements while campaigning in states where Republicans typically win easily, aiming to secure support ahead of the November 8 midterms. Despite concerns among some senior House Republicans about losing the majority in the House, Trump confidently claimed he could commit a violent crime without losing his supporters' backing. These remarks reflect his ongoing tensions with media and critics. The rally was one of several held recently in Texas, Ohio, Alaska, and other key states ahead of the crucial midterm elections.

Written for “Trump Campaigns And Attacks Leakers” on 2026-10-15, grounded in this article and the 13 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but 2 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 82132: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-15

Story

📰 Trump Campaigns And Attacks Leakers
Politics · 14 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 19% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Trump suggests those who leak government information should ‘be shot’ same event · 100%
Al Jazeera
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 7% hedged 2 of 27 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles report on President Trump's remarks at a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, where he suggested leakers should be shot and claimed he could 'murder' someone without losing support.”
Trump says government ‘leakers should be shot’ same event · 95%
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 12 📰 publisher trust 68
“Both articles describe Trump's speech at the same Arizona rally where he made controversial statements about leakers and his supporters.”
Trump unleashes chilling 'leakers should be shot' call in rambling tirade about run-up to Iran strikes same event · 95%
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 2 of 22 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe Trump's speech at the same Arizona rally on October 14, where he made controversial statements about leakers and hypothetical scenarios involving extreme actions.”
Trump says leakers should be shot, straying from economic pitch same event · 95%
The Straits Times
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 17% hedged 5 of 30 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe Trump's remarks about executing leakers during a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona on October 14, 2026.”
Trump says ‘leakers should be shot’ for exposing military secrets same event · 95%
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 18 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe President Trump's remarks at the same Arizona rally on October 15, 2026, where he called for leakers to be shot and made additional comments about his supporters.”
‘Leakers should be shot’, says Trump in escalation of attacks on news-gathering same event · 95%
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 12% hedged 2 of 16 📰 publisher trust 61
“Both articles describe Trump's speech at a rally in Arizona on October 15, 2026, where he specifically mentions that leakers 'should be shot', indicating the same specific incident.”
'Go to jail or be shot’: Trump warns US military secret leakers same event · 95%
Times of India
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 2 of 19 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe Trump's rally in Bullhead City, Arizona on the same date where he made controversial statements about military leakers and shooting.”
Trump says government officials who leak to the media ‘should be shot’ different event · 85%
NBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 23 📰 publisher trust 95
“While both articles describe Trump's comments at a rally, Article B seems to refer to a different part of the speech or a subsequent rally where he discusses hypothetical scenarios involving murder, which is not covered in Article A.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
4 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
14
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Alex Croft
33 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 President Donald Trump has claimed that he could “murder” someone without losing the backing of one of his faithful supporters.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · Trump boasts he could ‘murder someone’ and not lose MAGA faithful after saying leakers ‘should be shot’
🔮 “In fact, I think it reveals the contempt the Commission has for democratic processes in Europe,” she said, although accepted that her promise to cut France’s contribution to the EU budget would be difficult.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Marine Le Pen promises ‘trial of strength’ with EU if elected French president
🔮 The Neom project, which originally planned to see more than £363bn would be pumped into the construction of The Line, a 170km-long megacity, along with a mountain ski resort, several coastal resorts and an industrial zone along the coast of the Red Sea,
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · The Saudi megaprojects at risk of collapse as war with Houthis escalates
🔮 This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner is set to be unveiled this Friday, and the field appears to be wide open.
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Who could beat Trump to the Nobel Peace Prize this year?
🔮 This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner is set to be unveiled this Friday, and the field appears to be wide open.
2026-10-07 · assertive framing · Nobel Peace Prize contenders who could beat Trump this year - from The Pope to Mark Carney
🔮 Education minister Édouard Geffray later said he would be meeting with union representatives on Friday, with the goal to “turn these exchanges into concrete progress in service of the students, the staff, and the Schools”.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Teacher doused in petrol and schools set on fire as student riots in France dramatically escalate
🔮 Mayor Jean Menvielle told La Depeche that he was “someone very discreet who was rarely seen in the town”, adding of he and his wife: "They were unassuming people who lived their lives without getting too involved with the community.”
2026-09-29 · assertive framing · British pensioner, 85, ‘beaten to death’ in rural France as suspects flee in his stolen car
🔮 US president Donald Trump claimed the alleged plot was “looking to do big damage” to the US bombers that are held on the base, with numerous reports that British authorities are looking into whether Iran could be linked to the plot.
2026-09-28 · assertive framing · US issues urgent warning to citizens in Britain to ‘exercise caution’ after RAF Fairford incident
🔮 At the helm of this transition is Pope Leo XIV, who has received welcomes from large crowds of young people worldwide since his election in May 2025.
2026-09-26 · assertive framing · ‘Like Beyonce’: How ‘rock star’ Pope Leo XIV is energising Catholic youth
🔮 In May, Israeli foreign secretary described the UN as a “politicized and corrupt organization that has abandoned its founding principles and systematically targets Israel as its primary mission”.
2026-09-26 · mixed framing · Israelis and Americans disapprove heavily of the UN, according to new poll
Also by Alex Croft
Marine Le Pen promises ‘trial of strength’ with EU if elected French president
2026-10-14 · The Independent
The Saudi megaprojects at risk of collapse as war with Houthis escalates
2026-10-13 · The Independent
Who could beat Trump to the Nobel Peace Prize this year?
2026-10-08 · The Independent
Nobel Peace Prize contenders who could beat Trump this year - from The Pope to Mark Carney
2026-10-07 · The Independent
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 33 articles by Alex Croft →

Topics

Arizona Bullhead City Independent Republicans YouTube

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 6× Arizona GPE · 2× Republicans NORP · 2× Bullhead City GPE · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Independent NORP · 1× Ohio GPE · 1× Republican NORP · 1× Texas GPE · 1× YouTube ORG · 1×

Narrative

Trump has been fiercely campaigning in states where Republican candidates usually win easily, holding recent rallies in Texas, Ohio and Alaska, and urging voters to treat the midterms as if he were on the ballot. But five senior House Republicans privately admitted concerns that the GOP will lose its majority in the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-15
🔮 President Donald Trump has claimed that he could “murder” someone without losing the backing of one of his faithful supporters.
2026-10-15 · The Independent
Trump boasts he could ‘murder someone’ and not lose MAGA faithful after saying leakers ‘should be shot’ · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 4 hedged)

President Donald Trump has claimed that he could “murder” someone without losing the backing of one of his faithful supporters. uncertain
he → claim → supporters
While speaking at a rally in Arizona, Trump stopped mid-speech to try and find a woman in the crowd that he had seen on an earlier interview on YouTube. asserted
he → speak → YouTube
“I watched some people being interviewed online today. asserted
people → watch → ?
There was a woman who — there was nothing I could do that this woman would not vote for me. uncertain
woman → be → me
She loved me, actually,” he said. asserted
he → love → me
“Where is the woman?” he asked the crowd. asserted
he → ask → crowd
“She was interviewed for an extended period. asserted
She → interview → period
There’s nothing that I could do. uncertain
I → ’ → that
If they asked her if he murdered somebody would that be OK, she would’ve said ‘yes.’ asserted
she → ask → somebody
” It is not the first time the president has made such comments, famously declaring in January 2016 that he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters”. uncertain
I → make → voters
The comments came in a speech to supporters in Bullhead City as Trump continues his campaign trail ahead of the November midterms. asserted
Trump → come → midterms
Trump has been fiercely campaigning in states where Republican candidates usually win easily, holding recent rallies in Texas, Ohio and Alaska, and urging voters to treat the midterms as if he were on the ballot. But five senior House Republicans privately admitted concerns that the GOP will lose its majority in the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections. asserted
GOP → campaign → elections
Trump is currently struggling with low approval ratings, with a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing 65 per cent of Americans disapprove of his performance amid an unpopular Iran war and high living costs. asserted
cent → struggle → war
During his rally in Arizona, Trump also took aim at “leakers” saying that they should be “shot”. asserted
they → take → leakers
“In the old days we used to shoot leakers, you know,” he added. asserted
he → use → leakers
The US president, who himself was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania July 2024, went on to compare the media to leakers. “ asserted
who → shoot → leakers
The fake news media doesn’t want to talk about how well we’re doing… asserted
we → want → ?
they’re almost as bad as a leaker, because they leak false information, that makes them a leaker, right? asserted
them → ’re → information
He added: “I think they make up a lot of their sources… you find out there was no source, they make it up, they’re like storytellers.” asserted
they → add → storytellers
A large majority believe Trump himself is falling short at home and abroad and want to see major change in the upcoming elections. asserted
Trump → believe → elections
Around 80 per cent of voters say the economy and cost of living are among the top issues for the upcoming election. asserted
economy → say → election
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