Trump will ‘look in to’ paying legal bills for man who punched protester
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, said Sunday he would consider paying the legal bills for an elderly man who was arrested after sucker-punching a protester at a Trump rally in North Carolina ..
.. Cumberland County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 78-year-old John McGraw on Friday after video of him sucker-punching a young black man who had been protesting at the rally rippled across the Internet. McGraw told “Inside Edition” he didn’t regret throwing the punch because the man “might be with a terrorist organization.”
Trump said he doesn’t condone violence, but also said the punch may have been justified because the victim flipped off the crowd before the punch was thrown.
“From what I understand, he was sticking a certain finger up in the air,” Trump said. “And that is a terrible thing to do in front of somebody that frankly wants to see America made great again.”
NBC’s Chuck Todd asked Trump about the legal bills after quoting Trump telling told a crowd he would pay for the legal bills of anyone who attacked a protester. Trump said his stance was justified at the time because protesters were threatening to throw tomatoes at him.
“He was dragging a flag along the ground and he was playing a certain type of music. And supposedly, there was chatter about ISIS,” Trump said. “Now, I don’t know. What do I know about it? All I know is what’s on the Internet.”