Donald Trump on protesters getting punched: 'That's what we need more of'

"The audience hit back. That's what we need a little more of."

This was Donald Trump's response to a question about recent attacks on protesters at his campaign rallies that have drawn controversy, and even triggered criminal charges for those involved.

During a press conference on Friday morning, a reporter asked about comments Trump had made that seem to support violence as a way to deal with the protesters.

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"When you say things like, I want to punch a protester in the face... is it just politics or are you playing a character there?" the reporter asked.

"Let me just tell you, we have had some violent people as protesters," Trump said. "They are not just people saying, 'oh!' These are people that punch, these are people that are violent people." 

The protesters at Trump's rallies have been peaceful. Many have filmed themselves being berated, pushed and spit on.

But Trump, speaking at Friday's press conference, said that violence against them was "appropriate," and said he wanted to see more of it. 

The comments contradict with his statement just 12 hours earlier at the Republican Debate in Miami in which he said he hoped he hadn't played a role in inciting violence.

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But at that same debate Trump also said some of the protesters at his rallies "are bad dudes and have done bad things," continuing to frame the protesters as the instigators.

Trump's assessment of violence at his rallies being instigated by the protesters, at least in the most recent case of a protester being attacked at one of his rallies in North Carolina on Wednesday, don't match the facts.

During Wednesdays' incident in Fayetteville, which was caught on camera from several angles, a white man identified as 78-year-old John McGraw approached a group of protesters and punched one, identified as Rakeem Jones, in the face.

At the time, Jones told the Washington Post that he was caught completely off guard.

“Boom, he caught me,” Jones said. “After I get it, before I could even gain my thoughts, I’m on the ground getting escorted out."

Jones maintains that "no one in our group attempted to get physical,” a claim that's backed up by video. 

Instead of arresting the man who threw the punch, the police initially tackled Jones to the ground.

Footage taken from a second angle shows Jones did not instigate the assault, and that police looked on as he was punched.

Only then was McGraw and charged with assault and disorderly conduct for the attack.

Footage also emerged of McGraw in a brief interview with Inside Edition saying Jones deserved it, adding that "the next time we see him, we might have to kill him." 

He was handed an additional charge of "Communicating Threats" for the comment.

Police are still investigating why McGraw was not immediately arrested and why Jones was the one slammed to the ground in the wake of the attack.

Trump's campaign, meanwhile, has continued to distance the candidate from any responsibility over the attack.

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Hope Hicks, the Trump campaign spokeswoman, called the violence unfortunate in an interview with the New York Times and said Trump's campaign had “no control” over its supporters’ behavior.

“We obviously discourage any kind of physical contact or engagement with protesters,” she added, citing a pre-event announcement.

But at the Fayetteville rally on Wednesday, when another in a series of demonstrators was being led out, Trump himself lamented what he called “the good old days” when “this doesn’t happen.”

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“They used to treat them very, very rough, and when they protested once, they would not do it again so easily,” said Trump.

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