Trump complains security guard wasn’t rougher with female protester
Donald Trump appeared to call for security guards to be rougher in handling a female protester who interrupted him during a rally.
The young woman brandished a sign with a large, pink middle finger on it and wore a T-shirt that read “grabbing power back” – a reference to the president’s infamous “grab them by the pussy” remark.
Her presence attracted vociferous boos from the crowd in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. Mr Trump repeatedly urged security staff to “get her out”.
Footage shows a guard attempting to block the woman and usher her away, but she evades him.
After pausing his address, Mr Trump returned to the microphone and said: “That particular guy wanted to be so politically correct – oh-oh, aah. We don’t want to be politically correct.”
The president imitated the guard’s arm movements to suggest he had been insufficiently robust in his response to the protester.
“I don’t know who he was, he didn’t do the greatest job,” Mr Trump added.
Mr Trump has previously said he would like to punch a man who interrupted a 2016 rally in Las Vegas.
And in the same year he instructed supporters to “knock the crap out of” anyone they saw preparing to throw a tomato at him, promising to pay their legal bills if they did so.
With his visit on Tuesday, Mr Trump was seeking to shore up support in a swing state he won by less than 1 percentage point in 2016 ahead of the November 2020 election.
Pennsylvania, one of three “rust belt” states the Republican won with votes from people who had previously supported Democrats, is seen as key to keeping him in the White House, along with Michigan and Wisconsin.