‘He’s my guy’: Trump hails

President cheered at rally as he acts out violent attack by congressman

DONALD TRUMP has publicly praised a Republican congressman for bodyslamming a newspaper reporter who was hospitalised by the attack.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Missoula, Montana, the US president mimicked the actions of throwing someone violently to the ground and said: “Any guy that can do a body slam, he’s my kind of — he’s my guy.” He added: “He’s a great guy, tough cookie.”

He was referring to the assault in May last year when Montana congressman Greg Gianforte attacked Guardian political correspondent Ben Jacobs after he asked a question about healthcare. To cheers from the crowd of about 8,000 people, the president said: “Greg is smart. And by the way, never wrestle him. You understand. Never.”

Mr Trump said he was attending a meeting of world leaders in Rome when he first heard about the incident.

“We endorsed Greg very early. But I heard that he body-slammed a reporter,” he added. “This was the day of the election or just before, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is terrible! He’s going to lose the e l e c t i o n .’ A n d then I said, ‘ Wait a