Today, Donald Trump said, “Not only am I the law-and-order candidate, but I am the candidate of compassion.” His repeated calls for violence prove otherwise.
Trump advised his supporters to punch protesters at rallies and said he wanted to “punch him in the face” himself. Donald Trump is the man who considered paying legal fees for a supporter who punched a protester and said he wouldn’t lose voters if he shot someone in the middle of the street. He is no man of law and order — let alone compassion.
Donald Trump Incites Violence, Trivializes Peace
Donald Trump said he had instructed his people to look into paying the legal fees of a supporter who sucker punched a protester at his rally in North Carolina.
TODD: “I’m just curious, do you plan on paying for the legal fees of this older gentleman in North Carolina, who sucker punched the protester?” TRUMP: “Well, I’m not aware. I will say this, I do want to see what that young man was doing because he was very taunting. He was very loud, very disruptive. And from what I understand, he was sticking a certain finger up in the air. And that is a terrible thing to do in front of somebody that, frankly, wants to see America made great again. And so we’ll see. I’m going to take a look at it”… TODD: “So it’s possible — it’s possible you could help him with legal fees if this man needs it?” TRUMP: “I’ve actually instructed my people to look into it, yes.”
Donald Trump: “We had a couple of people in the audience who were equally tough and they took him out…and I’ll tell you what, it was really amazing to watch…we had four guys, they jumped on him, they were swinging and swinging. They next day we got killed in the press, that we were too rough. Give me a break, right?”
TRUMP: “Yeah, get him out. Try not to hurt him. If you do I’ll defend you in court. Don’t worry about it. You know, one of the things that happened – he wasn’t, he wasn’t bad – but some of these protesters are really violent people. Now, if we’re tough with them, we get criticized. We had one guy, in New Hampshire, actually, who was a rough guy. He was swinging and swinging and punching. He was really going down for the count. And we had a couple of people in the audience who were equally tough and they took him out. They took him out. No, they took him out. And I’ll tell you what, it was really amazing to watch. This was a seriously tough cookie. The guy looked like an NFL football player. We had four guys, they jumped on him, they were swinging and swinging. The next day, we got killed in the press, that we were too rough. Give me a break, right. We don’t want to be too politically correct anymore, right folks. So, no, it’s very unfair. They’re allowed to swing and punch the hell out of people, but if we get a little bit rough in taking them out, ‘Oh, we’re terrible people.’ You know, that’s the way it is. That’s one of the many reasons our country is going to hell.”
Donald Trump: “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.”
TRUMP: “They say I have the most loyal people — did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters. It’s like incredible.”
Donald Trump: “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of ‘em, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell – I promise you, I will pay the legal fees.”
“At a rally on the day of the Iowa caucuses this year, Donald Trump told the audience that he’d been warned about protesters with tomatoes in the audience. “So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of ’em, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell — I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. I promise.”
Donald Trump said he wanted to punch a protester in the face and lamented “we’re not allowed to punch back anymore,” in the old days, “they’d be carried off a stretcher, folks.”
TRUMP: “Oh, bye-bye. Good job, fellows. Bye-bye. But see, [that protester is] smiling. He’s having a good time. I love the old days, you know? You know what I hate, there’s a guy totally disruptive, throwing punches. We’re not allowed to punch back anymore. I love the old days. You know what they used to do guys like that when they were in a place like this? They would be carried out in a stretcher, folks. It’s true. … Honestly, I hate to see that. Here’s a guy throwing punches, nasty as hell, screaming at everything else when we’re talking and he’s walking out and we’re not allowed — the guards are very gentle with him. He’s walking out with big high-fives, smiling, laughing. I’d like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell you.”
Donald Trump on whether he regrets comments about punching protesters and sending them out on stretchers: “No, I don’t regret it at all.”
LEMON: “Do you regret saying any of those things? Especially the things that you have said about punching protesters, sending them out on stretchers.” TRUMP: “No. I don’t regret it at all. Some of these protesters were violent, there were swinging, there were hitting people and they were really doing damage. And frankly the crowd turns on them or the police said turned on them in most cases it was the police.”