Donald Trump just made an "assassination" threat against Hillary Clinton

Short of performing necrophilia on stage with a giant placard reading Make America Great Again held by Satan himself, we thought there was nothing Donald Trump could do or say to ruin his candidacy for US president.

Compared to the Thick of It-esque culture on these shores, where even the smallest of scandals ends up with some mopey-faced politician resigning, Trump has managed to offend practically every colour, creed and nationality in his race for the White House. Yet so far, he's remained without a metaphorical scratch on him, his bluster seen by die-hard Republicans as further evidence of his no-nonsense credentials, someone who ‘tells it like it is’.

But now the billionaire might have just crossed the line to a point even the most hardened patriots can’t ignore, taking a leap over the boundaries of what is acceptable to the point Team USA's long jump squad might consider getting him on a plane to Rio…

Speaking at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, he took aim at Hilary Clinton - literally: “Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the second amendment. If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the second amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know. But I’ll tell you what, that will be a horrible day.”

The second amendment, in case you’d forgotten, is the right for US citizens to bear arms, meaning, yes, old Donald might have just asked his supporters to shoot his Democratic rival. Flabbergasted? Fear not, this chap’s reaction says it better than any words could:

It was a cause for real concern. Within hours, the Secret Service even came out on Twitter to address Trump’s jumbled, potentially violent statement:

But even if he’s allowed to press on in his bid for WW3, the fact a man speaking to millions in a country as trigger happy and politically fraught as the US could even hint at the assassination of his political rival is a sign the pair’s rivalry really has gotten out of hand.

Coming just weeks after Trump all but asked Russia to hack Clinton’s emails following a CIA scandal, we imagine his advisors might be thinking their man’s used the second amendment on his foot.