Trump says he’d like to ‘punch the protester’
Las Vegas, Feb. 23: In another round of controversial remarks, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said he wanted to “punch” a protester in the face after the heckler was ejected from a campaign event here.
Trump, known for making controversial comments, also did not spare his nearest Republican rival Ted Cruz, calling him “sick” at the campaign rally ahead of the Nevada primary.
The protester the third one to interrupt him at the event and who Trump claimed had thrown punches at security guards drew the candidate’s ire.
As the man was being escorted away, Trump repeatedly told the crowd that he wished for the “old days”, adding, “You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out on a stretcher.”
“I’d like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell ya,” the 69-year-old was quoted as saying by the New York Times. Trump has faced criticism over his response to protesters before as well.
After a Black Lives Matter demonstrator was pushed to the ground at one of his events in November, Trump said in an interview after the episode that “maybe he should have been roughed up” before later pulling back from his comments.
But in Las Vegas, he held nothing back, and the crowd of thousands met every one of his lines with cheers.
Addressing another protester, a man holding a sign that read, ‘Veterans to Trump: End Hate Speech Against Muslims’, Trump repeatedly said, “Get him the hell out” as the crowd booed the man's exit.
You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out on a stretcher
— DONALD TRUMP,
Republican party presidential candidate, on protester