Trump interrupted by protesters at Texas rally: ‘They’re paid by enemies of our nation’

President Trump on Wednesday faced protesters who interrupted a rally for Texas GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton (R), with the president suggesting the hecklers were “paid by enemies of our nation.”

In San Antonio, Trump was criticizing Paxton’s Democratic opponent James Talarico, when he paused amid an uproar in the crowd, The Associated Press reported . A man wearing a MAGA hat grabbed another man by the scalp and yanked him to the ground, prompting the president to say, “Let me ask you a question: Is there anything like a Trump rally?”

More protesters heckled, with at least one approaching the podium. Rally attendees pushed some of the demonstrators out, with Trump joining in to mock them. He at one point said the protesters “are really bad-looking people.”

“That guy’s got to lose a lot of weight,” he later quipped. “Many of these protesters are paid. You know that, right? They’re paid by enemies of our nation.”

At another point, the president asked that any “paid protesters” raise their hands and “get the hell out” of the rally, according to the AP .

He also doubled-down on controversial remarks he made at another rally earlier this week in Nebraska, where he suggested Iran could try to “take out” the Southern California cities of Los Angeles and San Diego. The White House defended the original remarks by arguing the cities are safe because the U.S. prevented Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon and calling out the media’s characterization of what he said.

“And I said it the other day, let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way,” the president said Wednesday. “You want to see a horror show? Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles. You want to see some bad things happen? You want to see a country in free fall? We’re not going to let that happen.”

California elected officials fired back at Trump in the days following the initial remarks, with Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) calling for the invocation of the 25th Amendment .

Golden State lawmakers in the House and Senate also demanded an apology . Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman (D) and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria (D) all condemned the rhetoric.

Trump’s handling of the Iran war and rising prices have mired his approval rating. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday showed the president with a 32 percent approval rating, a record low that held steady from the polling center’s previous survey.

His loss of support has cast a dark shadow over the GOP’s prospects in the November midterm elections amid Trump’s request that voters pretend he is “ on the ballot .”