President Donald Trump praised a man for punching a protester at his rally at South Carolina’s Clemson University.
As the president delivered his remarks Oct. 21, multiple people started protesting, leading to one rally attender to purportedly punch a protester and elicit Trump's apparent delight, video footage from the event shows.
“That was great, man," Trump said as crowds started chanting "USA." "Wow. Man, I loved that. I watched that. That was incredible. Wow. That was unbelievable."
After asking if everyone was OK, Trump said, “Who’s the guy that threw that punch?”
“You know, you reminded me of Evander, the real deal, Holyfield,” Trump remarked, referring to the former heavyweight champion, who was also in attendance at the rally.
Watch the
moment at the video at the top of the story.
Multiple protesters disrupted Clemson rally
While audience members cheered as Trump walked up to the stage to "God Bless the U.S.A.," scattered outbursts from numerous protesters broke out within the first few minutes of his speech, which was met by boos and jeers from Trump's supporters in the audience, Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, reported.
“You gotta give them credit. It takes courage to do that at a Trump rally,” he said. “He got whacked.”
According to Reuters, Trump was interrupted by protesters several times during his speech with the crowd chanting "USA" as security guards escorted them out of the arena. CNN reported at least 12 protesters were removed from rally.
Sporadic protests have interrupted proceedings at recent rallies by Trump, who repeatedly cast the demonstrators without evidence as "paid protesters," Reuters said.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, published Oct. 19, found that 31% of Americans approve of Trump's performance in office, a record low for the president.
Trump visits South Carolina to campaign for Darline Graham
Trump made his second trip to South Carolina in the past two months to campaign for Sen. Darline Graham, R-South Carolina, as the country heads into a tightening Senate race in the midterm elections.
The president is focusing his campaign on supporting Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who previously held the South Carolina's U.S. Senate seat, as she competes against Charleston Democrat Annie Andrews. While South Carolina is a deep-red state, polls indicate a potentially tight race between this year's Senate candidates, Greenville News reported.
Contributing: Bella Carpentier, Greenville News / Reuters
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump praises rallygoer for punching protester: 'I loved that'
