Donald Trump has raised the possibility that gun rights advocates could take matters into their own hands to stop Hillary Clinton from appointing judges who support stricter gun control measures.

The statements, which appeared to suggest that gun rights advocates might shoot his rival for the presidency, have stirred another backlash against the Republican candidate during a week his campaign had hoped to steer clear of controversy.

“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks,” Trump said during a speech at a rally at the University of North Carolina on Tuesday.

“Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know,” he continued.

The US Constitution’s Second Amendment guarantees a right to bear firearms.

Clinton’s campaign called the comments “dangerous”.

“A person seeking to be the president of the United States should not suggest violence in any way,” it said.

When asked to clarify what Trump meant, his campaign said in an emailed statement: “It’s called the power of unification – 2nd Amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great political power.”

Asked for comment, the US Secret Service, which provides security details for both Trump and Clinton, said: “The Secret Service is aware of the comment.”

Tuesday’s speech has comes after a discordant week on the campaign trail during which Trump came under fire from within his party for belatedly endorsing fellow Republicans in re-election races and a prolonged clash with the parents of fallen Muslim American Army captain Humayun Khan.

On Monday, Trump had seemed to be heeding Republican advice to keep to a message of criticising Clinton and other Democrats when he gave a put forward economic policy proposals in a speech in Detroit.

Trump ‘damaging for Australia’

While the comments have stirred anger among some sections of the US electorate,Australia’s former ambassador to Washington Kim Beazley warns has said Donald Trump would trash crucial defence alliances in Australia’s region if he became US president.

The one-time defence minister also believes the Republican hopeful would destabilise relations with Japan and Korea, posing serious challenges for Australia.

“He would trash basically the structure of alliance relationships and trade relationships in our immediate region,” Mr Beazley told ABC radio on Wednesday.

Mr Beazley said Mr Trump was unlikely to listen to much of the advice he would get on the need for the US to maintain a global leadership role rather than pursue what he’s pushed as an “America first” policy.

“Should Trump win, there will be immense responsibilities on us,” Mr Beazley wrote in a commentary posted on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s website.

“When he’s briefed on the depth of our relationship and the massive character of our mutual investment, which far exceeds any American pairing in the region outside Japan, he might listen to us.”

The ensuing discussion would be tough.

Australia did not have “the capacity to readily survive an uncoupling of our bilateral defence relationship with our national security intact” given the deep dependence Australia has on the US for intelligence and major military hardware such as fighter planes and air defences.

“We can’t afford to sit back and let mayhem rule,” Mr Beazley said.