Pence Rally Interrupted by Protesters, a First for His Campaign

ByINES DE LA CUETARA ABCNews logo
Saturday, July 30, 2016

While Donald Trump has generally responded to protesters' interruptions by bellowing to security "get 'em out," his running mate Mike Pence has a different, more subtle approach.

On Friday, the Indiana governor-turned-GOP vice presidential candidate was interrupted by two protesters at a rally at the University of Northwestern Ohio Events Center in Lima, Ohio, about seven minutes into his speech.

"Lima hates Trump!," shouted one of the protesters, before the two of them started chanting in unison, "Lima trumps hate." One held a "Never Trump" sign with rainbow colors, the other held what appeared to be a "Lima trumps hate" sign.

The crowd went quiet; some started booing.

As the protesters were escorted towards the door -- with one Trump supporter aggressively pushing one of them -- Pence turned back to the crowd to ask, "How about, 'USA'?" The crowd humored him, breaking into the "USA, USA" chant that is often heard at Trump events.

"I always tells my kids that's what freedom looks like, and that's what freedom sounds like," he said.

Though the crowd was still agitated, Pence then continued speaking, unfazed.

This was the first time Pence has had to face disruptions since he began campaigning as VP. Interruptions, however, are fairly common at Trump rallies.

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