'He’s on our side': Video shows Trump cheering on supporter who attacked press at PA rally

31 August 2024

On Friday, a rally former President Donald Trump was hosting in Johnstown, Pennsylvania briefly erupted into chaos when one of his supporters lunged into the press area to attack journalists. Video of the incident shows the ex-president actively encouraging the man as he was being tackled by security.

In the video — which was tweeted Saturday morning by former NBCUniversal senior executive Mike Sington — three angles of the incident are shown simultaneously. One angle shows Trump at the lectern as he's speaking, another shows the overhead view of the Trump supporter jumping over the barricade separating the press pool from rally attendees and a third perspective shows the up-close view of security personnel apprehending the man.

"Since Kamala and the media don't want to attack her radical record, we will," Trump said. As one of his supporters lunged over the barricade, he paused to watch, and remarked that it was "beautiful."

"That's alright. That's OK. No, he's on our side," Trump said as the man attacking journalists was taken down, before offering a quip and a chuckle. "We get a little itchy, don't we? No, no, he's on our side."

After the rally, CBS campaign reporter Jake Rosen tweeted that the man who lunged over the barricade at reporters was first intercepted by the network's hired private security. He added that CBS' security personnel beat local police to the attacker, as well as U.S. Secret Service personnel and the venue's own security team.

"Another security lapse at a Trump rally," Rosen tweeted.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that the incident "came moments after Trump criticized major media outlets for what he said was unfavorable coverage and dismissed CNN as fawning for its interview Thursday with his Democratic rival Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz."

"The crowd cheered as a pack of police led the man away, prompting Trump to declare, 'Is there anywhere that’s more fun to be than a Trump rally?'" AP staff wrote.

Johnstown, Pennsylvania is in deep-red Cambria County, which went for Trump over President Joe Biden by a 38-point margin in 2020. Willamette University history professor Seth Cotlar wrote on the social media platform Bluesky that neo-Nazi Kevin Strom — who was sentenced to prison in 2008 for possession of child pornography — praised Johnstown and Cambria County for having an overwhelmingly white population.

Watch Sington's video below, or by clicking this link.

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