Trump praises supporter who punched heckler at rally and compares him to Evander Holyfield: ‘That was great’
Trump applauds crowd member after protester hit at South Carolina event, commending his ‘courage’ and comparing him to retired boxing champion, who was in attendance and joined the president on stage to speak
President Donald Trump lavished praise on one of his supporters who punched a protester at his latest rally Wednesday night, comparing the assailant to former boxing champion Evander Holyfield, a guest speaker at the same event.
Trump was appearing at the T Ed Garrison Arena in Pendleton, South Carolina, hoping to fire up his base and encourage Republican turnout at next month’s midterms.
The president was interrupted by hecklers at several stages during his address but the most significant came when his remarks turned to immigration.
“The hardest thing we have to do is nab these career criminals and get them the hell out of here…” Trump was saying, at which point the TV cameras covering his speech swung towards the crowd in response to a sudden uproar.
The camera picked out an older man in a red cap and spectacles holding his hands up and stepping back as police rushed into his row. Officers retrieved the protester he had seemingly just struck and led him out of the rally.
“Wow, thank you!” the president commented. “That was great. Wow. Man, I love – I watched that. That was unbelievable. Is everybody OK? Who’s the guy that threw that punch? Who threw that punch? Man!”
He continued: “I saw it – I’m looking right in that area and this lunatic… Actually, I’m not supposed to talk about looks. He’s a very unattractive looking guy.
“You know, once I turned political I had to say, ‘Looks don’t matter.’ I could see the most beautiful woman and I don’t notice it. But that guy was a really unattractive guy.
“But who’s the guy that threw the punch? You are? You reminded me of Evander ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield. No, the guy stood up, and he just let that little – and he got whacked! Man!”
Trump concluded: “They don’t realize it’s really dangerous to do that. You gotta give ’em credit. It takes courage to do that at a Trump rally. He got whacked!
“He started that, you know, screech. Whatever the hell they do… and as he’s in the process of the screech, he got whacked! Evander, he wants your autograph, that man.”
Earlier interruptions to his speech had seen the president dismiss his hecklers as “paid protesters,” without evidence, and claiming they “go home and mom slaps them around,” drawing scornful laughter from his audience.
In another instance, he responded by saying: “What was that noise I just heard? You know, you like just to power through that stuff, but that was a loud, horrible, disgusting sound. I didn’t know what was wrong with that person.”
When it happened for a third time, as he discussed Sen. Darline Graham, whose candidacy he was there to champion, Trump complained: “It’s always right at my punchline! They time ’em beautifully. These people are serious losers.”
