Donald Trump drew fierce condemnation over his response to a protester being physically attacked by a member of the crowd during his speech at a midterm election rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday.
The protester, a woman wearing a shirt bearing the slogan “Release the Epstein Files,” was shoved and hit in the face by an apparent Trump supporter, who also tried to force her to the ground, as the president watched the incident unfold from the stage.
Trump just smiled and accused the woman, whom he repeatedly referred to as a man, of being a “paid protester.”
As the crowd chanted “USA, USA,” Trump said: “He’s a paid protester. They’re all paid. They get paid by the lefties — in order to destroy our country. They’re scum.”
Trump did not offer any evidence to back up his claim.
“But he’s going back home to mom. He’s going back home to mom,” the president taunted, as members of law enforcement escorted the protester away.
Trump then turned to mock her appearance.
“Look at him, look at him, terrible. Don’t we love law enforcement? Oh, he’s got to go on a diet. He’s a fat guy,” he continued, later adding: “Gotta go on a diet fast. We all do.”
Video appeared to show the man who struck the protester was allowed to remain inside the venue and high-fived other audience members, Fox News reported.
With the crowd cheering and again chanting “USA,” Trump continued: “You know, they are paid protesters; that’s a very low-class protester. What he doesn’t know is that his mother and father voted for me. They’re angry as hell.”
“That’s our boy, what’s he doing there?” Trump mimicked the parents as saying, drawing more cheers from the crowd, before predicting, “He’s gonna get home and he’s gonna get smacked.”
Trump then returned to his speech.
It’s not the first time Trump has been slammed for his response to protesters at his rallies.
In 2015, he suggested that a Black Lives Matter protester who was shoved and punched “should have been roughed up.”
The following year, the then-presidential candidate told supporters to “knock the crap out of” anyone they saw getting ready to throw a tomato.
At another rally, as a protester was being removed, Trump said: “I’d like to punch him in the face.”