Advertisement

Donald Trump Says It’s A “Beautiful Sight” To See Police Throw Reporter To The Ground

Donald Trump again mocked MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi for the moment when he was struck by a rubber bullet while covering protests in June, and told a rally crowd that it was a “beautiful sight” when police targeted an unidentified reporter and “threw him aside like he was a bag of popcorn.”

Speaking at a rally in Moon Township, PA, Trump singled out Velshi, who was struck by a rubber bullet last June while covering protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Trump incorrectly identified Velshi as working for CNN and wrongly said that he was struck by a gas canister.

“Remember that beautiful sight? The street was a mess. That idiot reporter from CNN got hit with a canister of tear gas. And he went down. ‘I’ve been hit. I’ve been hit.’ He’s been hit,” Trump said, as the rally crowd laughed.

Chris Wallace Selects Presidential Debate Topics

Trump then mocked an unidentified reporter who has been targeted by police while covering protests. “Sometimes they grab. They grab one guy. ‘I’m a reporter. I’m a reporter.’ Get out of here. They threw him aside like he was a little bag of popcorn. Honestly, when you watch the crap that we have all had to take so long. When you see it, it is actually a beautiful sight.”

The comments were similar to ones that Trump made against Velshi last weekend at a rally in Bemidji, MN.

In response, MSNBC said, “Freedom of the press is a pillar of our democracy. When the president mocks a journalist for the injury he sustained while putting himself in harm’s way to inform the public, he endangers thousands of other journalists and undermines our freedoms.”

More from Deadline

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.