Trump praises supporter who punched heckler at rally, compares him to Evander Holyfield: ‘It was awesome’

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President Donald Trump praised one of his supporters who punched a protester at his latest rally Wednesday night, comparing the attacker to former boxing champion Evander Holyfield, a guest speaker at the same event.

Trump was appearing at T Ed Garrison Arena in Pendleton, South Carolina, hoping to energize his base and encourage Republican turnout in next month’s midterms.

The president was interrupted by hecklers several times during his speech, but the biggest came when his remarks focused on immigration.

“The hardest thing we have to do is arrest these career criminals and get them out of here…” Trump was saying, at which point the television cameras covering his speech turned to the crowd in response to a sudden uproar.

The camera spotted an older man wearing a red cap and glasses, raising his hands and stepping back as police rushed into his row. The police picked up the protester he had apparently just beaten and took him out of the gathering.

“Wow, thank you!” » » commented the president. “That was awesome. Wow. Man, I love it – I watched that. It was amazing. Is everyone okay? Who’s the guy who threw that punch? Who threw that punch? Man!”

He continued: “I saw him – I’m just looking in this area and this crazy… Actually, I’m not supposed to talk about looks. He’s a very unattractive guy.

“You know, once I got into politics, I had to say, ‘Looks don’t matter.’ I could see the most beautiful woman and I don’t notice it. But this guy was really unattractive.

“But who’s the guy who threw the punch? Are you? You reminded me of Evander ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield. No, the guy stood up, and he just dropped that kid – and he got beat up! Dude!”

Trump concluded: “They don’t realize it’s really dangerous to do that. You have to give them credit. It takes courage to do that at a Trump rally. He got beat up!”

“He started that scream, you know. Whatever they were doing…and while he was screaming, he got punched! Evander, he wants your autograph, that man.”

Earlier interruptions to his speech had seen the president refer to his hecklers as “paid protesters”, without evidence, and claiming they “go home and mommy slaps them”, drawing contemptuous laughter from his audience.

In another instance, he responded by saying, “What was that noise I just heard? You know, you just like to pass that stuff on, but it was a loud, horrible, disgusting sound. I didn’t know what was wrong with that person.”

When it happened the third time, while discussing Sen. Darline Graham, whose candidacy he was there to defend, Trump complained, “It’s always right in my punchline! They time them beautifully. These people are serious losers.”