In an interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that aired Thursday night, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton weighed in on a spate of violence at Donald Trump's campaign gatherings. On Friday, a Trump rally in Chicago was canceled out of security concerns and fights broke out at another event in St. Louis.
Maddow repeatedly showed a clip of a white man elbowing a black protester in the head during a Trump rally on Wednesday in North Carolina. The assailant, later identified as John McGraw, told a reporter that if he saw the protester again, "We might have to kill him." McGraw, 78, was later arrested for assault and battery and disorderly conduct.
"In the good old days this doesn't happen because they used to treat them very, very rough," Trump said from the dais Wednesday. "And when they protested once they would not do it again so easily… [Now] they get away with murder because we've become weak."
Maddow also showed a widely circulated video of a young African-American woman being shoved and berated during a Trump rally in Kentucky. Trump was shouting, "Get them out of here," when the woman, Shiya Nwanguma, was removed and assaulted. Another protester at a Birmingham, Ala., rally was assaulted by a group of men and Trump would later say, "Maybe he deserved it."
When asked about the violence, Clinton told Maddow she was "distressed" and "appalled" by the behavior at Trump's rallies, adding that many Americans are "disturbed" by Trump's campaign. She also bemoaned Trump's attacks on freedom of speech and assembly. Watch below.
Clinton is now dealing with her own troubles after expressing gratitude with how Nancy Reagan "started a national conversation" about HIV. After being blasted by many — including the Human Rights Campaign, which endorsed her — the former first lady apologized and said she misspoke about the Reagans' contributions to battling the disease.
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