Bingo. Trump and the MAGA movement more broadly have made extensive use of this strategy: do something ridiculous to test the waters, and then claim you were just joking if the response is too harsh.

At this point I want to fight fire with fire:

"You know, there are a lot of countries, very nice countries, where someone tried to become a dictator, and then they caught and executed him in a horrible horrible way. The family also, imprisoned from being terrible people. Do you think we'd do that in America someday? Just joking, just joking, nobody would do that, it's fun to think about, isn't it? It really triggers those snowflakes. Let's all talk about exactly what would happen in visceral detail, you know, as a joke."

We can all point out that the 2nd amendment is cherished.