Donald Trump on Thursday justified repeated violence at his rallies, saying that it was necessary in part because those who were being removed posed a threat.
"We have some protestors who are bad dudes. They had done bad things. They are swinging. They are really dangerous," Trump said during Thursday night's Republican debate. "We had a couple big strong powerful guys, doing damage to people. And if they're going to be taken out, I'll be honest. We have to run something."
Trump's remark came after he was asked about a protester at one of his rallies who was sucker-punched on Wednesday.
If there truly have been dangerous protesters at Trump rallies, it seems no one has heard about them -- but it's characteristic of Trump to paint all members of a group he dislikes with one broad and derogatory brush.
Meanwhile, those who have been ejected from Trump's rallies couldn't have been further from his description of them.
They included Tahjila Davis, a 19-year-old mass media major at Valdosta State University, who was among a group of black students ejected from a Georgia rally earlier this month. Davis told USA Today that the group attended the rally not planning to do anything but was asked to leave by Trump security.
Trump's "bad dudes" also apparently include Rose Hamid, a Muslim woman who was ejected from a Trump rally after standing up and silently protesting. Also among Trump's "dangerous" people were a Black Lives Matter protester who was repeatedly punched and kicked on the ground in November and a group of pro-immigration protesters who were kicked out of a rally in October.
More people Trump suggested deserved to get kicked out were two men at a Massachusetts rally holding up homemade yellow signs that said "America is already great" and "God bless President Obama."
The men were harassed by Trump supporters and their signs torn up.
Editor's Note: Donald Trump is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist, birther and bully who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims -- 1.6 billion members of an entire religion -- from entering the U.S.
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