Obama struggles to rein in Clinton crowd shouting at protester
RT CNNPolitics: As Clinton supporters boo a protester at an event, Obama defends him: "Everybody sit down and be q… https://t.co/cMQOBW0P5U
— Daniel (@DanielAnders_) November 4, 2016
President Obama on Friday struggled to control a raucous crowd of Hillary Clinton supporters who heckled a pro-Donald Trump protester at a rally in North Carolina.
An elderly man wearing military-style garb stood up and shouted “Trump” as Obama launched into an attack against the Republican presidential nominee.
Here’s the pro-Trump protester who interrupted Obama rally pic.twitter.com/gbwzT3i1zU
— Josh Lederman (@joshledermanAP) November 4, 2016
The crowd at Fayetteville State University begun to boo and chant “Hillary” to drown out the man.
“Hey! Hey! Hey! Hold up,” the president shouted, trying to get the crowd to settle down, to no avail.
“I told you to be focused, and you’re not focused right now,” Obama said. “Listen to what I’m saying. Listen up. Everybody sit down and be quiet for a second!”
It took roughly a minute for the crowd to fall silent. Afterward, Obama came to the demonstrator’s defense.
“First of all, we live in a country that respects free speech,” he said. “Second of all, it looks like maybe he might have served in our military, and we ought to respect that. Third of all, he was elderly, and we’ve got to respect our elders. And fourth of all, don’t boo, vote!”
The president then urged the audience to focus on his message that Trump is unfit to serve as commander in chief.
“If we lose focus, we could have problems,” he said. “That’s part of what’s happened here in this election season, we just get stirred up for all kinds of reasons that are unnecessary. Just relax.”
It was a rare moment for Obama, who has commanded the rapt attention of crowds during his final-week blitz for Clinton.
The president is hitting the road hard in key battleground states to ensure Clinton succeeds him in the White House.
He’s headlining two rallies in North Carolina Friday before stumping for the Democratic nominee in Florida on Sunday.
The president will travel to New Hampshire on Monday to rally Democrats before capping off his road trip that evening with a joint rally with Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama in Philadelphia.
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