Anti-MAGA Heckler Takes Victory Lap as Trump Cancels Rallies
The protester is taking credit for the president’s retreat.
KENT NISHIMURA/AFP via Getty Images
The anti-MAGA heckler who taunted Donald Trump about Jeffrey Epstein at his Chillicothe, Ohio, rally on Wednesday is now taking credit for the president’s sudden rally cancellations.
The anti-Trump musical comedian and political activist, whose real name is Rob Potylo, took to X on Thursday to celebrate the White House scrapping two of the president’s weekend rallies, one day after Potylo hijacked Trump’s Ohio speech with a shout about Jeffrey Epstein’s jet.
Potylo usually performs in a giraffe onesie and records parody songs skewering the president and his administration on YouTube.
Potylo took credit for Trump’s canceled rallies on Friday morning. X/@RobbyRoadsteame
X/@RobbyRoadsteame
“Trump canceled the rest of his rallies! You’re welcome America!” Potylo wrote, adding an American flag, a giraffe and a blue heart.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment on Potylo’s post.
Sign Up for The Swamp Newsletter
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
For Wednesday night’s rally in Chillicothe, where Trump was stumping for Sen. Jon Husted and gubernatorial hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, Potylo went undercover in a pro-Trump hat.
Trump was midway through a riff about Husted’s backside when he stepped away from the microphone. Potylo made his move.
“Trump went on the Jeffrey Epstein plane!” he shouted from the stands. Security hauled him out of the gymnasium as boos rained down.
Once he’d been escorted out, Potylo checked in with his fans on Instagram: “I’m okay I think! I do it for you!” He wrote, “Just got Trump in Chillicothe Ohio! Sang The Epstein Plane song, called him ‘Pumpkin Spice Peeedo’ and gave him the finger then got attacked!”
The activist referred was referring to one of his YouTube videos, “Jeffrey Epstein Plane.”
On stage, Trump fired back that the heckler was “paid” and “not a young guy,” and then circled back to Epstein.
“You know, he mentioned Epstein. So I threw Jeffrey Epstein out of the club like 20 years ago because I thought he was a whackjob,” Trump said in part, later calling his critics “sick, weak people.”
This isn’t Potylo’s first run-in with federal agents. Boston.com reported that he was arrested at an ICE protest in Minneapolis in January and detained by ICE in Portland, Oregon, in October 2005.
He told the outlet he’d gone to Minneapolis to “see what I could do to sort of help the cause and bring my art to the darkest areas.”
Trump, 80, axed two rallies, however not all of them. He canceled a Saturday stop in Kansas and a Sunday event in Iowa. Trump insisted a Friday rally in Florida would still go ahead.
The president is swapping the stage for the phone. A White House official told the Daily Beast he will hold “more than 20 telerallies” before Tuesday’s election.
The White House hasn’t explained why it made the switch.
When quizzed later Thursday on the decision, Trump denied that fatigue played a role and turned on a Reuters reporter who suggested it might have.
Unlike other candidates, Sen. Roger Marshall has made little effort to distance himself from Trump and the MAGA movement head of the midterms.
Jonathan Ernst/Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS
“I’m not going to Kansas because he’s doing very well,” Trump said. “You’ve been following me for two weeks; I feel perfect.”
Potylo’s “Epstein plane” jab wasn’t pulled from thin air. Trump’s flights on the financier’s jet are documented in an email an assistant U.S. attorney wrote in January 2020, later released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
In it, a federal prosecutor wrote that Trump had flown on Epstein’s private jet at least eight times from 1993 to 1996. The plane was later nicknamed the “Lolita Express,” a glib nod to the young women and girls allegedly trafficked aboard it.
“Donald Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware),” the prosecutor wrote in the email.
In 2024, Trump insisted he was “never on Epstein’s Plane.”
One email indicated Trump traveled on Epstein's jet "many more times" than previously known.
Justice Department
When reached for comment after the protest, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis told the Daily Beast in a statement: “Just as President Trump has said, he’s been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein. And by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him.”
Potylo is hardly the only dissenter crashing Trump’s midterm swing. Three separate protests broke up Thursday’s rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where cameras caught rows of empty chairs.
“They always hit me in the middle of my damn punchline,” Trump griped onstage.
A protester is kicked out of Trump's rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, revealing empty seats in the audience on Oct. 29, 2026.
Aaron Rupar/X
On Oct. 12 in Youngstown, Ohio, a woman wearing a “Release the Epstein Files” shirt was attacked by several attendees.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…