The Republican presidential nominee has been working this week to move past distracting campaign disputes, but once again he put himself at the center of a blazing controversy.

First, he falsely claimed that Clinton, his Democratic opponent, wants to "essentially abolish the Second Amendment." She has said explicitly and repeatedly that she supports the Second Amendment right to own guns, though she does back some stricter gun control measures.

Trump then noted the power Clinton would have to nominate justices to the Supreme Court.

"By the way, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don't know," Trump told supporters at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina. "But I'll tell you what. That will be a horrible day."

Trump's campaign sought to quell the controversy with a statement that blamed the "dishonest media" for misinterpretation. And Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, said Trump was talking about the clear election choice for pro-gun voters, not encouraging violence against Clinton.

"Of course not," Pence said in an interview with NBC Philadelphia. "Donald Trump is urging people around this country to act consistent with their convictions in the course of this election."

Yet from Trump's foes, the reaction was swift and unforgiving.

Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook, called the comments "dangerous." Priorities USA, a super PAC supporting Clinton, said Trump had "suggested that someone shoot Hillary Clinton." Across the country, Democratic House and Senate candidates piled on, working to tie Trump's comments to their GOP opponents.

And the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which has endorsed Clinton, said Trump was encouraging gun violence "based on conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton."

Tweeted Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat: "@realDonaldTrump makes death threats because he's a pathetic coward who can't handle the fact that he's losing to a girl."

The National Rifle Association, the gun lobby that has endorsed Trump, came to his defense. The group wrote on Twitter that "there's nothing we can do" if Clinton is elected while urging voters to defeat her in November.

The controversy immediately overwhelmed Trump's intended campaign-trail focus: the economic plan he unveiled just a day earlier and was promoting during a series of rallies in the most competitive general election states. It also reinforced the concern, voiced by many worried Republicans, that he cannot stay disciplined and avoid inflammatory remarks that imperil not only his White House prospects but the re-election chances of many GOP lawmakers.

Clinton's supporters are hoping the latest Trump trip-up will lead yet more of his fellow Republicans to defect. A day earlier, Maine Sen. Susan Collins became the latest to declare she won't vote for her party's nominee, explicitly pointing to his "constant stream of cruel comments."

The US Secret Service, responsible for both Clinton's and Trump's protections, said it was aware of what Trump had said but declined to say whether it planned to investigate.

Contrary to Trump's remarks, Clinton has made her support for gun rights a key piece of her stump speech in a bid to pre-empt attacks from Trump and groups like the NRA. Still, she supports reinstating a federal assault weapons ban, expanding background checks and barring purchases by domestic abusers, among other steps.

"I'm not here to repeal the Second Amendment," she said in her Democratic National Convention speech. "I'm not here to take away your guns. I just don't want you to be shot by someone who shouldn't have a gun in the first place."

Clinton spent Tuesday in Florida calling for emergency public health action on the Zika virus while visiting the Miami area dealing with the first U.S. outbreak. At a local health clinic, she urged Congress to cut short its summer recess and immediately pass funding for a Zika response.

"Everybody has a stake in this. And that's really why I'm here," Clinton said. "We don't want to wake up in a year and read more stories about babies like the little girl who just died in Houston."

It's an issue that could affect votes in this crucial swing state where she has held a small advantage in recent polls. So far, Trump has not addressed the issue in depth, though he told a Florida television station last week that Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, "really seems to have it under control in Florida."

Obama, Clinton and Democrats blame Republicans for politicizing the legislation by adding a provision to a $1.1 billion take-it-or-leave-it measure that would have blocked Planned Parenthood clinics in Puerto Rico from receiving money.

Republicans, in turn, say the administration has not spent money that has already been provided and it's the Democrats who are playing politics in an election year.

___

Lucey reported from Miami. Associated Press writers Lisa Lerer and Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.

___

Follow Josh Lederman at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP and Catherine Lucey at https://twitter.com/catherine_lucey

___

What political news is the world searching for on Google and talking about on Twitter? Find out via AP's Election Buzz interactive. http://elections.ap.org/buzz (**)

Popular

Policymakers to rethink single-day general election format

Authorities raises Halmahera volcano alert level to highest

Indosat showcasing Indonesia's Digital Literacy Initiative at the Global DTC Workshop