Donald Trump praised a supporter who punched a protester at a Trump rally near Clemson University on Wednesday night, October 21, and compared the man to boxing legend Evander Holyfield, who was in the crowd.
Trump was speaking at T. Ed Garrison Arena in Pendleton, South Carolina, campaigning for Senate candidate Darline Graham, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, and trying to fire up Republican voters ahead of next month’s midterms. He was talking about immigration when the crowd erupted and cameras swung to a protester who had just been hit by another attendee. Officers then led the protester out of the arena.
Trump did not call for calm. “Wow, thank you!” he said from the stage. “That was great.” He told the crowd he had watched the whole thing, then asked who threw the punch. When he found the man, he told him, “You reminded me of Evander ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield.”
He kept going. Trump told the crowd, “It takes courage to do that at a Trump rally,” and warned that protesters do not realize how dangerous it is to disrupt one. He also mocked the man who was hit, calling him “a really unattractive guy.” Then he pointed to Holyfield and said the puncher wanted the boxer’s autograph.
Holyfield was not just a fan in the stands. The 64 year old, the only four time heavyweight champion in boxing history, flew to South Carolina with Trump on Air Force One and spoke on stage during the rally. Trump made a point of introducing him to the crowd, praising him for beating fighters who outweighed him by 30 to 50 pounds.
The protester was not the only person struck that night. The New York Post reported that at least 12 hecklers interrupted the Trump rally and that cameras caught two protesters being hit by rallygoers as security and sheriff’s deputies removed them.
As of Thursday, there have been no reports of an arrest or charges against the man who threw the punch at the Trump rally. The protester’s name and condition have not been made public.
Trump has cheered on this kind of thing before. In 2016, he told a Las Vegas crowd he would like to punch a protester in the face. At an Iowa rally that same year, he offered to pay the legal fees of supporters who roughed up hecklers.
