Donald Trump says he's "instructed my people" to explore the possibility of helping pay the legal bills for a 78-year-old man charged with assault at a Trump rally.
John Franklin McGraw was charged after he was caught on video hitting a man deputies were escorting out of a Trump campaign event last Wednesday in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
"He went absolutely wild punching, and frankly, when they punch, it's okay. When my people punch back because they have to out of self-defense, everybody says, 'Oh, isn't that terrible?'" Trump told Chuck Todd on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday.
There is no indication the man who was attacked threw any punches.
While acknowledging that he does "not condone violence in any shape," Trump said he doesn't accept responsibility for the violence at his campaign events.
"They're not angry about something I'm saying. I'm just a messenger," he said.
