Fox News/screen grab
A man at President Donald Trump’s South Carolina rally stunned a Fox News correspondent by comparing the event to the Jonestown massacre during a live broadcast.
The exchange aired Thursday morning as Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson interviewed attendees in Rock Hill ahead of Trump’s speech. Tomlinson identified the man only as Tom.
Trump was in Rock Hill for his second South Carolina rally in October, campaigning for Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), who faces Democrat Annie Andrews in the Nov. 3 election, South Carolina Public Radio reported.
“We got Tom right here, kind enough to answer a few questions,” Tomlinson said. “Tom, why are you here this morning?”
“Well, in the late ’70s, I was a little too young to get involved and go to South America for the Jonestown massacre, but this is as close as I’ll ever get, so that’s why I’m here,” the man replied after leaning into the camera.
“Wait! The Jonestown massacre?” Tomlinson asked, gradually realizing what had happened.
“That’s right. See? It’s nothing like seeing a cult right up front, man,” the attendee shot back.
“So maybe this is not a Trump supporter right now,” Tomlinson told viewers as the man pointed to his hat and said something inaudible.
Tomlinson struggled for words before recasting him as one of the “pro — anti-Trump” people at the rally.
The segment aired live under a “Fox News Alert” banner.
The massacre the man invoked took place Nov. 18, 1978, when 909 members of the Peoples Temple, led by the Rev. Jim Jones, died in Jonestown, Guyana.
The man’s cult remark came after a Fox News report on the weakness of Republican campaigns in the state. Moments earlier, Tomlinson had told viewers that Fox News had moved South Carolina into the toss-up category, a state he said Republicans “cannot afford to lose.”
“Just a few months ago, not a state they thought they’d probably be defending it so much,” Tomlinson said.
Trump was scheduled to begin speaking at 12:30 p.m., less than an hour after the exchange aired.
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