Shepard Smith: Trump’s comments on due process ‘as un-American as imaginable’

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith on Friday denounced President Trump’s “take the guns first, go through due process second” comments this week, calling the suggestion “as un-American as imaginable.”

In a segment with fellow anchor Chris Wallace, Smith questioned why Trump seemed to present a policy position that was “nonsensical” during a Wednesday White House meeting on gun control.

“The president of the United States said ‘if you see somebody who doesn’t seem right, take their guns and worry about the consequences later, go to the court later,’ ” Smith said.

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“That is as un-American as imaginable,” he said. “Is there anyone there who is able to discern what has happened and why these things keep coming out in these ways that really end up usually walked back and are bordering on nonsensical?”

Republicans and many Democrats were aghast at Trump’s remarks during the bipartisan meeting. 

“I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida … to go to court would have taken a long time,” Trump said.

“Take the guns first, go through due process second,” he added.

Smith went on to question whether Trump’s advisers were giving him “bad advice” on policy, or whether the president’s own intuition was directing his comments on gun violence and other issues.

Wallace took a lighter tone than his colleague, but stated that remarks like the ones Trump made were a result of him being “fed up” with the way White House advisers try to “control” him.

“He gets fed up with his staff, he gets fed up with them all trying to manage him, to control him, and he acts out,” he said. “When he does, uh, hold on to your hats.”

Smith has been a rare voice of criticism against the president on Fox News, in recent months knocking him for not speaking out against Russia’s election interference and dismissing House Republicans’ attacks on the credibility of the FBI’s investigations into the Trump campaign.