On Monday night, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump held a rally at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino, and when protesters showed up, things turned ugly.
The protesters, who were largely Black Lives Matter protesters or supporters of stricter gun control, were escorted from the room by security, Trump supporters shouted offensive things at them. In a video posted by BuzzFeed’s McKay Coppins, one attendee even shouted, “Light that motherf***er on fire!” as a black protester was removed.
MSNBC’s Benjy Sarlin also reported on Twitter that the phrases “Kick his ass,” “Shoot him,” “Bi**h,” and “Sieg Heil!” were also shouted as the protester was dragged away.
https://twitter.com/mckaycoppins/status/676611661487190018
https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/676611394549121024
“I staged that,” Trump said as security escorted the protester out. “It was the only way I could get the cameras to pan the crowd.”
For Donald Trump, this is actually nothing new. Last month, during a rally in Alabama, another black protester was savagely attacked by Trump supporters as Trump himself looked on.
During Monday’s rally, Trump promised to win “big” in New Hampshire and seemed to revel in the polling data that showed him far ahead of the pack for the Republican nomination. Surprisingly, Trump had nothing but nice things to say about Sen. Ted Cruz, who is neck-and-neck with him in the most recent Iowa polls.