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Donald Trump Supporters Weigh in on Violence at Rallies

"Then again, no one’s going to back down if someone starts something," one supporter said before a rally in Cleveland, a day after the Chicago chaos.
Image: GOP Candidate Presidential Donald Trump Holds Rally In Cleveland
CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 12: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets guests gathered for a campaign event at the I-X Center March 12, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio.y Jeff Swense / Getty Images

CLEVELAND, OH — Donald Trump’s supporters know they’re in the spotlight.

"Don’t scream at protestors, sing!" read a flyer passed out to the thousands of Trump fans waiting for his rally at the I-X Center on Saturday. The sheets included lyrics to "America the Beautiful." The urging didn’t take — the crowd booed the inevitable interruptions while Trump told security to "get them the hell out."

The event went more smoothly than Trump’s morning event in Dayton, Ohio. At that event, Secret Service officials leapt to protect Trump as a man rushed the stage.

"We want to be peaceful," Michael Brigeman, a high school senior and Trump supporter, said as he waited for the Cleveland rally. "Then again, no one’s going to back down if someone starts something."

Trump’s rivals across both parties accused Trump of encouraging violence at his rallies after a planned Chicago rally descended into chaos Friday, with clashes and fistfights breaking out between protesters and supporters. The event was postponed by the Trump campaign. Trump has denied responsibility for the melee.

Related: Trump Blames 'Thugs' for Clashes at Postpones Chicago Rally

Trump has told crowds he’d like to punch protesters in the face, and referred wistfully to the days when protesters would be "carried out in a stretcher." Trump even offered to pay legal fees for anyone who would "knock the crap" out of protesters if they threw tomatoes at him.

The fans that waited hours in line for Trump's afternoon rally in Cleveland Saturday weren’t happy with the recent news out of Chicago. But they argued that it was unfair to blame Trump, even as some admitted they’d prefer he dial back his rhetoric.

Mike Bokulich, a polite 73-year-old veteran holding a sign outside of the rally, attributed the Chicago fiasco to the city’s history as a hotbed of progressive activism. He believes the same confrontations would have broken out if any other Republican held a major event at a college campus there.

"Let them go to Chicago and see what happens," Bokulich said. "This has been going on for years.”

Related: How Sanders Supporters Shut Down Trump's Rally in Chicago

Jeff Marshaus, a 53-year-old truck driver wearing a plastic Trump sign, was upset with the coverage of individual Trump supporters, like the elderly man who was arrested after striking a protester on video this week.

"It’s thousands of people — he can’t control everyone," Marshaus said.

Trump, on some level, is concerned about his image as well. Darrell Scott, the African-American pastor who introduced him on Saturday, used his speech to call attention to the supporters behind him holding an "American Sikhs for Trump" sign and an "American Muslims for Trump" sign.

The event, as always, opened with a recorded message telling supporters not to harm protesters who “have taken advantage of Mr. Trump’s hospitality.”

Two Republican candidates, Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, hinted Saturday that they were reconsidering their pledges to support Trump if he becomes the GOP nominee over in response to the chaos at his events. Rubio in particular sounded deeply shaken when addressing the topic.

"It’s called anarchy,” Rubio said. “And that’s what we’re careening towards.”

Related: Kasich Accuses Donald Trump of Fostering 'Toxic Environment

Audience members in Cleveland were skeptical of the sincerity of Trump’s critics. Many are on guard for efforts by GOP leaders to wrest the nomination from Trump at the national convention, and assume the latest criticism is yet another political ploy to drag him down.

"They’re losing, so they’re going to say whatever they think will help them,” Art Figureo, an electrician from Akron, said.

Most supporters who talked to MSNBC blamed the unrest in Chicago on supporters of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders — "Bernie’s crowd," as Trump sneered in his speech — and the Black Lives Matter movement, which frequently protests Trump events.

Some Trump supporters volunteered that the protesters popping up at Trump’s rallies were Republican plants.

"I think it’s staged, 50-50 Democrats and Republicans," Marshaus said. “They don’t want Trump, and they’re going for brokered convention.”

"I think [George] Soros is behind it and probably other Republicans, too,” Mary Jane Sobeski, 66, said.

Progressive activist groups, some which are supporting Bernie Sanders, say they organized the Chicago protests on social media.

The scene outside Saturday’s rally included a mix of smiling faces and signs, some with vulgar language. Vendors sold T-shirts, some with profanity, in support of Trump. One vendor was selling shirts featuring a crude joke about Monica Lewinsky.

There was a darker moment when an irate Trump supporter in camouflage gear screamed “go back to Africa” at a Black Lives Matter protester outside the venue.

Not everyone is crazy about the nastiest lines in Trump speeches. Some love his message on trade and immigration, love that he sticks it to political correctness, but still wish he were a touch milder.

"I wish I was his consultant sometimes after debates, but people admire that he’s not PC,” Bokulich told MSNBC. “So he’s not presidential. Obama was presidential, and look where it got us.”

"He gets a little crazy sometimes — it’s a little scary," Michelle Weber, a 53-year-old medical administrator, admitted while adding she didn’t blame Trump for violence.

Some supporters said they regard Trump’s controversial comments as part of an election season act that no one should take too seriously. In the White House, they argued, things would be different.

"You know how Ben Carson said there were 'two Trumps?'" Frederick James, a retired military police officer who served in three wars, said. "There’s the serious side and the joking side."

Joe, a young Trump volunteer working the rally who asked that his last name not be used, echoed the sentiment.

"Maybe he needs to tone it down, but it is part of his gimmick," he said. "When he’s in office this will die down, but he’s doing what he needs to do to get elected."

The regular outrageous moments, he said, are "what sets him apart from the other candidates" and generate necessary media attention. "He’s not a career politician — no one would have paid attention otherwise."

Randall Malus, a 33-year-old writer in a three-piece suit and a "Finally, someone with balls" pin, told MSNBC that the uncomfortable scenes now playing out in the news were destined to occur whether or not Trump arrived on the scene.

"There’s a general undercurrent of anger and divisiveness brought on by economic inequality," he said. "Historically, when the middle class is strong, there is much less anger."

This article first appeared on MSNBC