Climate protesters interrupt Trump event in Iowa / Photo: © AFP
Climate protesters interrupt Trump event in Iowa
Several young protesters chanting "Trump, climate criminal" briefly disrupted an Iowa campaign event by the former US president on the eve of the state's first-in-nation vote in the Republican presidential nomination race.
One protester held a black-and-yellow banner bearing the same three words before being quickly hustled from the room by guards, in an incident witnessed by AFP journalists.
The roomful of Donald Trump supporters responded with loud shouts of "USA, USA!"
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, called one of the protesters "young and immature" as she was being escorted out.
"They're fighting oil," he said. "They're basically saying let's close up on our country."
Trump, who holds an overwhelming lead in polls ahead of Monday's Republican presidential caucuses in the Midwestern state of Iowa, has long questioned the scientific consensus that human activities are a major contributor to global warming.
As president, one of his first acts was to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, and he has vowed, if re-elected, to vigorously promote the production of fossil fuels.
G.Alamilla--ESF
