Trump calls Alec Baldwin a 'nutjob,' suggests 'maybe he loaded' the gun that killed' Rust' crewmember

Former President Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on October 09, 2021 in Des Moines, Iowa. This is Trump's first rally in Iowa since the 2020 election. Photo credit Scott Olson/Getty Images

On Thursday, former President Donald Trump claimed that actor Alec Baldwin may have purposefully shot crew members while on the set of his movie "Rust."

Trump spoke with radio host Chris Stigall on his podcast "The Chris Stigall Podcast" when he made the claim.

Baldwin was on the set of his new movie when he fired a prop gun that resulted in the death of the film's director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and injured the director, Joel Souza.

"He's a troubled guy.," Trump said on the podcast. "There's something wrong with him. I've watched him for years. He gets into fistfights with reporters."

Trump continued talking about the actor, saying that "He's a cuckoo-bird, he's a nutjob. And usually, when there's somebody like that, you know, in my opinion, he had something to do with it."

In the police affidavit from the incident, Baldwin shared that he was told the gun was empty, Insider reported.

Baldwin has also called Hutchins' death an "incidental accident" while being confronted by reporters with his wife.

On the podcast, Trump shared that he thought Baldwin acted irresponsibly when pointing the gun at a crew member despite him thinking it was empty.

"But if nothing else, how do you take a gun and just, whether it's loaded or not loaded, how do you take a gun, point it at somebody that's not even in the movie and just point it at this person and pull the trigger and now she's dead?" he said.

Trump then shared that if he were handed a weapon, he would check to see if it's loaded or not by shooting it in the air. He also questioned why the gun was pointed at Hutchins, a crewmember and not an actress.

"It's weird," Trump said on the podcast. "Who would take a gun and point it at a cinematographer and pull the trigger, and she's dead?"

There is an ongoing investigation into how the gun was loaded with live ammunition, and the former president suggested Baldwin may have loaded the gun himself.

"As bad as it may have been kept, meaning you know the people that take care of the equipment and the guns and everything else… But even if it was loaded, and that's a weird thing— maybe he loaded it," he said.

There have been no charges in the current investigation.

Live On-Air
Ask Your Smart Speaker to Play K Y W Newsradio
KYW Newsradio
Listen Now
Now Playing
Now Playing
Featured Image Photo Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images