President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in South Carolina was repeatedly disrupted Wednesday night, with at least six protesters interrupting the event during its first 20 minutes.
The interruptions came as Trump campaigned for Darline Graham, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham and the Republican candidate he has endorsed to succeed him in the US Senate.
Trump also renewed his attacks on Graham’s Democratic challenger, Annie Andrews. He again used the derogatory nickname “Tranny Annie” while accusing her of supporting transgender-related policies.
Turning his attention to the demonstrators, Trump claimed without providing evidence that they had been paid to disrupt the rally.
“It’s all paid for. They’re a bunch of losers. They’re terrible people. They’re terrible,” Trump said. “The people that pay them are sick, and they want to destroy our country.”
He then urged his supporters to vote in the midterm elections, asking them to approach the contest as though he himself were on the ballot.
“In this election, I’m asking you to pretend I’m on the ballot because when I’m on the ballot, we get 29 percent more votes, all three times,” Trump said.
Several minutes later, another protester rose from the audience and stood directly in front of the former president.
A Trump supporter in the crowd then appeared to strike the protester, drawing praise from the president.
President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at T. Ed Garrison Arena on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, in Pendleton, South Carolina.
A protester is escorted from a rally held by US President Donald Trump ahead of the midterm elections at T. Ed Garrison Arena at Clemson University in Pendleton, South Carolina, US, on October 21, 2026.
Trump paused to address the confrontation from the stage and first asked whether everyone in the audience was safe.
“That was incredible,” Trump said. “Who threw that punch?”
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“The guy stood up, and he just let that little— and he got whacked, man,” Trump added.
Trump compared the supporter who appeared to throw the punch to Evander Holyfield, the former American heavyweight boxing champion who competed professionally from 1984 to 2011. Holyfield was also attending the rally in support of Trump and Graham.
At another campaign appearance earlier this month, Andrews addressed Trump’s insult, describing the controversy as a distraction.
“If name calling would help lower gas prices and grocery prices, he can call me all the names he wants,” Andrews said at the time.
Roughly an hour into Wednesday’s rally, a further interruption triggered a fresh round of “USA, USA” chants from Trump’s supporters.
Trump thanked law enforcement officers for quickly removing the protesters from the venue.
He also repeated his earlier pledge to send $5,000 checks to all American adults if Republicans retain control of both the US House and Senate after the November midterm elections.
When Darline took the stage next to Trump, she spoke for less than two minutes and laid praise on the President, calling him ‘one of Lindsey’s greatest friends,’ adding that Trump ‘will always be a part of the Graham family.’
Republicans are desperate to save the US Senate seat in South Carolina formerly held by the late Lindsey Graham.
The party has allocated an additional $5 million in South Carolina to spend on behalf of Darline Graham, Lindsey’s sister, who was appointed to fill his seat after his sudden death in July.
Although some expected her to fill the seat on an interim basis, Darline went on to win the primary runoff.
The influx of cash to Graham is being sent as an ‘insurance policy,’ per Axios, to keep a seat in Republicans’ hands that Lindsey had always won by more than 10 percent.
An InsiderAdvantage poll conducted at the end of September had Darline Graham up by only one point.
