Donald Trump asked supporters if they wanted to see him “knock the hell out of people backstage” after he had microphone problems during his rally in Milwaukee on Friday.
The Republican presidential nominee had difficulties with his microphone throughout his speech and ended up taking it out of its stand and holding it. He later complained: “I’m blowing out my damn throat too because of these stupid people.”
Friday saw dueling rallies in Milwaukee from Kamala Harris and Trump, as both presidential hopefuls sought to build their support in the crucial swing seat of Wisconsin. Trump was introduced on stage by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the former independent candidate who has since endorsed him, while Harris was joined by rapper Cardi B and comedian Keegan Michael-Key.
Trump had problems with his microphone throughout his one hour address, saying: “The mic is terrible…I think this mic stinks.”
Donald Trump holds his microphone following technical problems at a campaign rally at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on November 1, 2024. Trump said he wanted to “knock the hell out of people backstage” over the difficulties.
KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP/GETTY
At one point the crowd began chanting “fix the mic” to which Trump responded: “Fix the mic huh. You gotta be kidding. Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage?”
The former president’s remarks sparked cheering from a section of his supporters.
Referring to the crowd Trump then said: “I don’t mind if they want to come up a little forward or something but it’s a pretty stupid situation but that’s OK.”
“I get so angry. I’m up here seething. I’m seething, I’m working my ass off with this stupid mic. I’m blowing out my left arm, now I’m going to blow out my right arm and I’m blowing out my damn throat too because of these stupid people,” he said as members of the crowd laughed.
A clip of Trump’s remarks was posted on X by the “Acyn” account, which shares footage from notable moments in American politics. The post went viral racking up more than 1,200 reshares and 750,000 views.
Crowd: *chants fix the mic*
Trump: Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage? I get so mad, I’m up here seething. I’m working my ass off with this stupid mic. pic.twitter.com/tCwpNY4xFF
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 2, 2024
Newsweek contacted the Donald Trump presidential election campaign for comment on Saturday by email outside of regular office hours.
Trump was later provided with a wireless mic by one of his aides, so he didn’t have to walk around with the one connected to the podium, though he complained “this mic is much heavier than the other one” before joking: “I can do exercise, I can build up my muscles.”
The former president wasn’t the only one who had technical problems on Friday, with Cardi B ending up reading her speech from a smartphone in response to an apparent teleprompter failure.
Friday also saw Trump hit out at Liz Cheney, the former House Republican who has previously described him as a “fascist” and endorsed Harris.
Branding her a “war hawk” Trump said: “Let’s put her with the rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her.
“OK, let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face. They’re all war hawks when they’re sitting in Washington in a nice building saying, ‘oh, gee, we’ll, let’s send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy.'”
In response Cheney described Trump as a “cruel, unstable man” in an X post adding: “This is how dictators destroy free nations.”
