Trump laughs when rally supporter shouts to shoot migrants at the border

At a campaign rally in Panama City Beach, Florida on May 8, 2019, President Trump asks the crowd: "How do you stop these people?" — referring to migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. When a rally attendee shouts "Shoot them!", Trump laughs and responds: "That's only in the Panhandle you can get away with that statement." Rather than condemning the suggestion that migrants be shot, Trump treats it as a regional joke. The exchange is captured on camera and broadcast widely. The White House press team pivots to defending the exchange by pointing to Trump's statements opposing border agent use of weapons. The Panama City Beach rally exchange is later cited by The Washington Post in direct connection to the August 3, 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting — in which shooter Patrick Crusius also used "invasion" language — noting Trump's pattern of joking about and normalizing violence against migrants. CBS News confirms the incident from video. Snopes rates the claim that Trump laughed and failed to rebuke the "shoot them" comment as TRUE.