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Poll Shows Nearly 20 Percent Of Republicans Want Trump To Drop Out

PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) – Should Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump drop out of the race? A growing number of Republicans think so.

According to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, 19 percent of registered Republicans want Trump to drop out. The poll also showed that 70 percent think he should stay in the race, while another 10 percent didn't know.

The poll was conducted from Aug. 5-8 and surveyed 396 registered Republicans.

An additional survey of 1,162 registered voters was also conducted. It showed that 44 percent felt Trump should exit the race.

These numbers come on the heels of more controversial comments made by Trump during a North Carolina rally on Tuesday.

Trump said that if Hillary Clinton gets to pick federal judges as president, there is nothing that can be done to protect the right to bear arms.

But, he added without elaboration that maybe supporters of the Second Amendment could figure out a way.

"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 said.

His campaign released a statement to clarify what was meant by the comment.

"It's called the power of unification – 2nd Amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great political power. And this year, they will be voting in record numbers, and it won't be for Hillary Clinton, it will be for Donald Trump," the statement read.

During the event, he said falsely that Clinton "essentially wants to abolish the Second Amendment." Clinton supports some new restrictions on gun ownership, but has not advocated overturning the amendment.

Meanwhile, Trump's running mate held a rally at the Heinz History Center Tuesday night.

Supporters cheered when Indiana Gov. Mike Pence compared what he feels is unfair media coverage of the Trump/Pence campaign to the Steelers playing against the odds.

"It's almost as though the Steelers had to play an entire season of away games in front of hostile crowds with hometown refs," said Gov. Pence. "But, they'd still win wouldn't they?" to which the crowd shouted back, "Yes."

Pence did not directly address Trump's comments during the event.

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(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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