Donald Trump Calls Protesters at San Jose Rally 'Thugs' and 'Illegals'

In addition to calling protesters "illegals" and "thugs," Donald Trump also criticized San Jose's mayor for not doing more to stop the violence.

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As you're probably aware by this point, Donald Trump rallies have a knack for stirring up major controversy. Whether a peaceful protester is getting sucker punched or a Trump supporter is saluting the Nazis, these gatherings have frequently descended into violence and chaos. A Trump rally in San Jose, Calif. turned violent when angry protesters attacked Trump supporters leaving the rally, and Trump took to Twitter this morning to voice his opinions on the matter. 

In the two tweets that Trump sent out about the San Jose rally, the Republican frontrunner typically involves race. Trump has made disparaging comments about immigrants in the past, calling Mexicans "rapists" and accusing them of bringing drugs and crime to the states, which is why a significant portion of San Jose's large Mexican population protested the rally on Thursday. 

First Trump commented on the difference between the irate protesters and his peaceful supporters, calling attention to the fact that many of the protesters were "thugs" and "illegals." 

Many of the thugs that attacked the peaceful Trump supporters in San Jose were illegals. They burned the American flag and laughed at police

Then Trump went on to call out the mayor of San Jose for not doing more to ensure safety at the rally. 

The Mayor of San Jose did a terrible job of ordering the protection of innocent people. The thugs were lucky supporters remained peaceful!

Trump's use of inflammatory language isn't surprising, but the level of violence at this particular rally was not typical. Outside the San Jose Convention center protesters threw punches, eggs, traffic cones, and bottles at Trump supporters as police in riot gear attempted to break it up. 

Violence breaks out at Trump rally in San Jose, CA, as protesters hurl eggs, throw punches. https://t.co/wacscMGG91https://t.co/wovOASeVd7
Woman who supports Trump surrounded by protesters, who taunt her, then throw eggs and bottles at her. pic.twitter.com/nHJ3cgYOfR

The San Jose Police Department said they made a few arrests after the incident without specifically revealing how many. Trump is still making his rally rounds, with a large turnout in Redding, Calif. yesterday. 

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