President Trump celebrated violence at his rally in South Carolina Thursday night.
At least nine protesters interrupted his speech at Clemson University, according to a pool report. In one instance, a heckler was punched by a Trump supporter in the crowd, and the president loved it.
“Wow. Man, I love that. I watched that,” Trump said. “That was incredible. Wow. That was, that was unbelievable. Is everybody OK? Who’s the guy that threw that punch?
“You know, you reminded me of Evander, the real deal, Holyfield,” Trump added, referring to the champion boxer in attendance.
“You gotta give them credit. It takes courage to do that at a Trump rally. He got whacked.”
In another instance, a MAGA fan followed a protester as security escorted him out, and hit him on the head.
Trump has a history of celebrating violence in his rallies going back to the start of his political career. In February 2016, Trump wished aloud at a rally in Las Vegas that he would have liked to punch a protester in the face. The next month, he told a rally crowd in Iowa, “So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of ’em, would you? I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. I promise.”
As the president’s dwindling popularity keeps setting records, more and more people are showing up to his pre-midterm election rallies to heckle and protest him. The economy continues to grow worse thanks to his failed economic policies and disastrous war in Iran, increasing dissatisfaction even in areas that voted for him by wide margins.
However, Trump still retains a core group of die-hard supporters, who are perfectly willing to engage in violence to demonstrate their loyalty, whether it’s storming the Capitol building or beating up protesters. To Trump, however, nothing can go too far.