COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (AP) – Donald Trump appeared to pre-empt New York City officials when he declared Saturday evening that a “bomb went off” in New York City before officials had released details.
“I must tell you that just before I got off the plane a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows what’s going on,” Trump said, minutes after stepping off his plane during a rally at an airport hangar in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
He continued: “But boy we are living in a time — we better get very tough, folks. We better get very, very tough. It’s a terrible thing that’s going on in our world, in our country and we are going to get tough and smart and vigilant.”
The Republican presidential nominee made the comments around 9:10 p.m., shortly after the explosion in Manhattan’s crowded Chelsea neighborhood and as emergency officials were responding to the blast.
Local authorities have said they believed the explosion, which injured 29, was an “intentional act,” but declined to answer questions about the cause at a news conference that began about two hours after Trump spoke.