Let us see, Trump did not actually say it but he repeated it. Did he repeat it or adopt it?
Does it really matter? The point is the Trump is in the 30s in the approval ratings and has to reach out beyond his 43% base which has obviously deteriorated. No doubt the fiasco over healthcare has alienated even parts of his base but the kerfuffle over Russia probably did not help. The revelations concerning government spying on an opposition party in a general election might have helped a lot more if it had been properly introduced by something other than a 5 AM tweet containing misstatements that have to be corrected and then walked back when the administration said it would not comment until after Congress had finished its investigation.
That is my point and nothing more. It is unfortunate that full advantage was not taking of one of the juiciest scandals to come along since Watergate because it was impetuously tweeted at 5 AM.
Someone made an observation about Trump. It came about because the journalist (or blogger) was mind-boggled by how committed Trump’s supporters were. He had never seen anything like it. The image of Trump shooting someone in plain sight and remaining wildly, indescribably popular was his best attempt at communicating the unparalleled loyalty of Trump supporters.
If you weren’t blinded by Trump hate, you could understand why Trump repeated it. He did it as a way of bolstering his supporters. It was Trump’s way of saying, ‘Even the crooked MSM has noticed your loyalty. You’re making a real impression on them—here is what was said, etc.’
All Trump supporters understood what he was saying instantly. He wasn’t talking about shooting anyone. He was illustrating the profound and amazing impression his supporters made even on people who were 100% behind Hillary.
Otoh, to a man and to a woman Trump haters misconstrued the comment. Unbelievably, as you’ve just illustrated, the misrepresentation continues even this long after the primaries. I.e.: the worst of the haters are clinging to a false presentation of that comment right down to this very day.