President Donald Trump refused to let a parade of hecklers derail his Texas rally Wednesday night, firing back with jokes and insults as law enforcement repeatedly removed protesters from the arena.
Trump was interrupted at least six times while campaigning in San Antonio for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, according to Mediaite.
The first confrontation quickly became physical.
Video showed a man wearing a MAGA hat grabbing a heckler by the hair and pulling him to the ground before security intervened.
Watching from the podium, Trump turned the disruption into part of the show.
“Let me ask you a question — is there anything like a Trump rally?” Trump said.
“He’s going back home to mom,” the president later joked. “But what he doesn’t know is his mom voted for Trump.”
It wouldn’t be the last interruption.
“That guy’s gotta lose a lot of weight,” Trump said after another heckler began shouting.
Trump then alleged that some of the protesters were being compensated to disrupt his events.
“Many of these protesters are paid. You know that, right?” Trump told the crowd. “They’re paid by enemies of our nation.”
Trump did not provide evidence for the allegation.
As another protester was escorted out, Trump appeared unfazed.
“Do we have a good time?” he asked supporters.
The crowd responded with chants of “USA!”
“If there are any more paid protesters, please raise your hand and get the hell out of here,” Trump added.
Another interruption came as Trump attacked Democrats, prompting the president to observe of the protesters, “They’re getting smaller.”
When police removed another heckler with his hands behind his back, Trump laughed off the disruption.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Those are really bad-looking people.”
CBS News reported that at least 10 people were removed or appeared to leave after disrupting the rally, while Fox News reported at least a dozen demonstrators interrupted Trump during the event.
None managed to stop the president from continuing his remarks.
Supporters repeatedly booed the hecklers and cheered Trump as security cleared the disruptions. At one point, footage from Right Side Broadcasting Network captured members of the crowd chanting, “Daddy Trump! We love you, Daddy Trump!”
Trump eventually returned to his pitch for Paxton and other Texas Republicans — but not before turning a night filled with interruptions into another round of exchanges with the crowd.
