President Trump said at a rally Thursday night that a lawmaker who assaulted a reporter by body-slamming him is therefore “my guy.”
Mr. Trump was introduced by U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte at a rally in Missoula, Montana, and as the president began his speech, he warned the crowd “never wrestle him.”
“Any guy that can do a body slam, he’s my candidate, he’s my guy,” Mr. Trump said, making a theatrical body-slam gesture with his arms.
The president’s filter appeared to catch himself, only to take back the taking back.
“I shouldn’t say this,” he said, then adding “there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
In May 2017, at a campaign-volunteer barbecue in Bozeman on the eve of a special election to fill Montana’s sole House seat, Mr. Gianforte slammed to the ground Ben Jacobs, a reporter for Britain’s Guardian newspaper, breaking his glasses.
“Jacobs was asked to leave,” Gianforte spokesman Shane Scanlon said at the time. “After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face.”
“Jacobs grabbed Greg’s wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground,” Mr. Scanlon added. “It’s unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.”
The next month, having won the election, Mr. Gianforte pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and received a 180-day deferred jail sentence, fined and sentenced to community service and anger-management training.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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