Nicolai Haugsted
Trump forced to stop speaking as protester shouts “You’re a liar” during Ohio rally.
Donald Trump headed to Ohio on Saturday with a familiar political assignment: energize Republican voters with less than a month remaining before the midterm elections.
The president’s rally in Vandalia was meant to boost Sen. Jon Husted, who is locked in a competitive Senate race against Democrat Sherrod Brown. Recent surveys have shown Brown narrowly ahead, including a New York Times/Siena poll of likely voters that put the race at 49 percent to 46 percent.
Trump’s speech, however, was briefly interrupted by a subject far removed from the Ohio campaign.
A protester inside the venue began shouting about E. Jean Carroll and the civil verdict that found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer.
“You’re a liar!”
Video shared from inside the rally captured the disruption from close range.
“Liar! You’re a liar!” the protester shouted.
“Why don’t you tell people the truth?”
The protester then repeatedly called Trump a “rapist” and shouted: “He raped E. Jean Carroll!”
People surrounding the protester reacted as security moved in and escorted the person from the event.
Footage from the Right Side Broadcasting Network livestream showed the interruption from another perspective. Trump stopped speaking at the podium while supporters positioned behind him turned toward the disturbance.
The rally resumed after the protester was removed.
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The Carroll verdict requires an important distinction
The protester’s language referenced Trump’s lengthy legal battle with Carroll, but the exact findings against the president matter.
A federal civil jury in Manhattan found Trump liable in May 2023 for sexually abusing Carroll and subsequently defaming her. Jurors awarded Carroll $5 million.
The jury did not find Trump liable for rape under the specific definition contained in New York law that applied to the verdict.
Judge Lewis Kaplan later explained that the jury’s finding nevertheless established that Trump had raped Carroll according to the broader, commonly understood meaning of the word. Trump has consistently denied Carroll’s allegations.
A separate jury subsequently ordered Trump to pay Carroll another $83.3 million for defamatory statements.
Trump appealed both judgments, and the litigation has continued through the federal courts.
Trump came to Ohio with another fight on his hands
Saturday’s interruption arrived during a rally carrying considerable electoral importance for Republicans.
Trump traveled to Vandalia to support Husted as Republicans try to retain control of the Senate. Ohio has generally moved toward Republicans in recent presidential elections, but polling indicates that the 2026 Senate contest remains competitive.
Brown held a one-point advantage over Husted, 44 percent to 43 percent, in a late-September InsiderAdvantage survey of likely voters. A New York Times/Siena survey conducted through October 1 showed Brown at 49 percent and Husted at 46 percent, with the difference falling within that poll’s margin of error.
Trump used the Vandalia appearance to defend Husted and address issues including Ohio’s controversial expansion of data centers, which have become part of the Senate campaign amid concerns about electricity costs and land use.
Protesters had also gathered outside the venue before Trump arrived. Local station WHIO reported chants, air horns and demonstrations against the administration near Butler High School ahead of the event.
