President Donald Trump praised a supporter who appeared to punch a protester during his campaign rally at the T. Ed Garrison Arena near Clemson University in Pendleton, South Carolina, on Wednesday night. Rather than call for calm, Trump asked the crowd who had thrown the punch and compared the man to boxing great Evander Holyfield, who was in attendance.
“That was great, man. Wow. Man, I loved that. I watched that,” Trump said from the stage, according to UNILAD’s account of the rally. He told the crowd it takes courage to strike a protester at one of his rallies.
The rally was held for Republican Senate candidate Darline Graham, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who faces Democrat Annie Andrews in the November 3 midterms. A pool report counted at least nine interruptions by hecklers during the night, and video showed a second protester apparently being slapped on the head by a rallygoer as security escorted demonstrators out.
Trump dismissed the protesters as paid operatives, saying they were funded to disrupt his events. As of Thursday, no reports of arrests or charges connected to the punch had surfaced, and the protester’s name and condition had not been made public.
Source: UNILAD
