Presidential hopeful Donald Trump is a "revolutionary," and the protesters disrupting his rallies -- and the media taking their side -- are thugs.
That was Sarah Palin's message to Trump supporters in Tampa, Florida, on Monday, a day before the key Florida primary.
"Time is our most valuable resource," said Palin, the former Alaska governor who was Sen. John McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential campaign. She added that a worthy use of time is working to get Trump elected.
"What we don't have time for," she said, "is all that petty, punk-ass little thuggery stuff that's been going on with these quote-unquote protesters who are doing nothing but wasting your time and trying to take away your First Amendment rights, your rights to assemble peacefully."
Palin's comments follow several weeks of violence at Trump rallies, which have resulted in protesters being beaten, shoved, kicked and verbally abused. Instead of calling for an end to such behavior, Trump has encouraged it, telling supporters they should "hit back" more often.
Trump told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Monday that "there's no violence, nobody's been hurt" at his rallies.
"First of all let's not even use the word violence, there's very little disruption generally speaking. It's a function of the press, the press likes to say what they like to say," Trump told CNN. "If one person gets up and starts shouting and the police walk that person out, they try and make it like it's a violent thing. It's not violent. It's a protester that stands up or probably a disruptor, because I think they're sent there by some people on the other side."
Like Trump, Palin pointed her finger at the media, saying, "And the media, being on the thugs' side. What the heck are you guys thinking, media? It doesn't make sense."
Following her short speech in Tampa, Palin -- who endorsed Trump for president in January -- planned to return to Alaska to be with her husband. Todd Palin, 51, who was involved in a serious snowmobile crash on Sunday night, CBS News reports.
Editor's note: Donald Trump is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist, birther and bully who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims -- 1.6 billion members of an entire religion -- from entering the U.S.
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