Donald Trump Praises Rally Attendee Who 'Whacked' Heckler During Campaign Event: 'That Was Great'

President Donald Trump commended a supporter who punched a protester at a campaign event in South Carolina.

On October 21, Trump paused his speech to identify the attendee, stating, “Who's the guy that threw the punch? ... The guy stood up ... and he got whacked, man,” while comparing the supporter's action to boxing legend Evander Holyfield.

The incident occurred at the T. Ed Garrison Arena near Clemson University in Pendleton, S.C.

According to media pool reports, Trump's speech was disrupted by hecklers between 9 to 12 times.

As security personnel and sheriff's deputies escorted the demonstrators from the arena, video and eyewitness reports indicated that crowd members struck at least two of the protesters.

Following one of the heckling incidents, the POTUS said, “What was that noise I just heard? You know, you like just to power through that stuff, but that was a loud, horrible, disgusting sound. I didn’t know what was wrong with that person.”

Trump was visiting the state to campaign for Republican Sen. Darline Graham, who is running against Democratic challenger Annie Andrews in the upcoming November 3 midterm elections.

As Trump bloviated about immigration, a MAGA rally-goer punched a heckler.

“Wow, thank you!” Trump said as police rushed in to restrain the person who hit the heckler. “That was great.”

While the protester was escorted out, the man who punched him remained.

“Wow. Man, I love — I watched that,” Trump continued. “That was unbelievable. Is everybody okay? Who’s the guy that threw that punch? Who threw that punch?”

Trump framed the supporter's intervention as an act of bravery, stating, "You gotta give them credit. It takes courage to do that at a Trump rally." He added, "He started that screech ... and as he's in the process of that screech, he got whacked.”

Trump explicitly shouted out the supporter by saying, "You reminded me of Evander 'the Real Deal' Holyfield.”

Following the physical altercations and the removal of the protesters, the arena crowd erupted into chants of "USA! USA! USA!”

Without providing evidence, Trump dismissed the interruptions as the work of "paid protesters" and mockingly remarked that they "go home and mom slaps them around.”

This event follows a similar disturbance just over a week earlier on October 12, in Youngstown, OH, where Trump mocked a female protester after she was punched in the face by a crowd member.

Appearing unaware that the protester was a woman, Trump referred to her as a man and ridiculed her body, stating, "He's got to go on a diet, he's a fat guy" and suggesting she "needed to lose weight."