Sarah Palin: Donald Trump Protests Are 'Punk Ass Thuggery'

TAMPA, FL — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin may have canceled her own Monday rally at The Villages after her husband Todd was in a snowmobile accident, but that didn’t stop her from stumping for Donald Trump at his Tampa rally.

Palin was the first to take the stage at the rally, which had a slow start due to weather-related delays in Trump’s arrival. The outspoken former vice presidential candidate lashed out at the protests that have highlighted several of Trump’s recent events and slammed the media in the process.

“What we don’t have time for is all that petty punk ass little thuggery stuff that’s been going on with (these) protestors,” she told the crowd gathered at the Tampa Convention Center. She also accused the media of being on the “thug’s side.”

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As for her endorsement of Trump’s candidacy, “We needed a revolution and we’ve found our revolutionary,” she said, adding that Trump is a "unifier."

Palin’s address was followed by a little stage time for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The governor is taking fire in his home state after he made the decision to skip a funeral for a New Jersey State Trooper killed last week to stump for Trump on Monday. Trooper Sean Cullen, 31, was killed by a car during a traffic stop last week.

“We can’t take anything for granted tomorrow,” Christie told the Tampa Bay area supporters present. “Florida’s a winner-take-all state.”

Christie told those gathered he believes Trump is the only Republican left in the race capable of beating Democrat Hillary Clinton. He also said Trump would start his presidency “by bringing Americans together again.”

While Christie and Palin were the big national names at Monday’s rally, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was given the honor of introducing Trump. Before she did, the Tampa native announced her endorsement of Trump’s candidacy.

“We live in a changing world and we need leadership,” Bondi said. “We need someone who is unafraid to lead and restore America to its greatness. Today, I am proud to endorse Donald Trump.”

As for Trump himself, the candidate ran though his list of campaign promises (a border wall with Mexico, an end to Common Core, a replacement for Obamacare and lower taxes, among others) in between having to pause for the removal of protesters. One called him a fascist before being escorted from the building.

As Trump was taking the stage, news broke that he might be hit with a charge of inciting a riot after a protester was sucker-punched at a rally in Fayetteville, N.C. While protesters were evident inside and outside of the Tampa Convention Center, no major clashes have been reported.

Trump is looking for victories in Florida and Ohio both on Tuesday.

“If we win Florida and we win Ohio, we can go and attack Hillary,” he told the Tampa crowd. “I can focus on Hillary. That’s what I really want to focus on. If we bring our party together, we’re going to win in a landslide.”

Voters in Florida and Ohio both go to the polls for primaries on March 15. Trump led the latest Florida polls with a healthy lead over Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.

Whether Trump will win those states will be decided by voters on March 15. Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich were running neck-in-neck in polls related to that state’s primaries.

YouTube screenshot from Right Side Broadcasting