Donald Trump tells crowd he wants to 'punch protester in the face' at Nevada rally

The Republican nominee bemoaned the 'old days' when 'guys like that would be carried out on a stretcher'

Donald Trump has taken a more direct approach when dealing with protesters during rally speeches in the past, on one occasion branding a man overweight and on another calling for a man to have his coat confiscated in freezing weather.

But the outspoken billionaire ramped up his rhetoric on Monday when he calmly told a Las Vagas rally he would like to punch a "disruptive" man in the face as he was escorted out by security.

Speaking ahead of the Nevada caucus, he told the crowd: “You know what I hate? There’s a guy totally disruptive, throwing punches, we’re not allowed to punch back anymore. I love the old days. You know what they used to do with guys like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out on a stretcher, folks."

“I’d like to punch him in the face, I tell you that,” he added, prompting cheers from the audience.

Reporters didn't see why the man was taken out by security, and it was unclear whether he had actually thrown any punches.

Trump's increasingly inflammatory statements only seem to improve his ratings and he continues to lead by a wide margin in Nevada after winning Republican primary contests in both New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Trump also took aim at his rival Ted Cruz, labelling him “sick”, telling the 6,000-strong crowd gathered at the South Point Arena: “There's something wrong with this guy.“

Cruz, who along with Mark Rubio is seen as Trump’s biggest challenger, has been criticised by his opponents after asking for the resignation of his national spokesperson Rick Tyler on Monday, which inaccurately quoted Rubio, making it appear that he was showing rival Rubio dismissing the Bible. Tyler has apologised and acknowledged that he was mistaken in not having checked the accuracy of the story before posting it.