"He hit me on the head and, because I’m a pretty big guy, I went down hard."

Two gay men were attacked at a McDonald’s in Sydney, Australia, last week by a man who claimed to be a supporter of Donald Trump.

Sam and Andrew (not their real names) were in line at the fast-food eatery early last Monday morning, when a young man started drunkenly ranting about President-elect Donald Trump.

“He was saying things like how white men rule now that Trump has won,” Sam told the Star-Observer. “I was horrified. Andrew was lovely and very protective of me—he tried to encourage me to stay away from him.”

Sam says he turned around and told him, “I’m gay—do you have a problem with that?” which apparently set the man off. He started shouting how “Trump’s won, straight white men rule,” as his friends tried to restrain him and eventually dragged him out of the restaurant.

Shaken, the couple got their food and walked out—but the assailant was waiting for them.

Getty

“I couldn’t believe it, he’d been waiting outside to pounce on me,” Sam said. “He hit me on the head, and because I’m a pretty big guy, I went down hard – immediately there was blood everywhere. He kept mouthing off, but when he hit my head things went a bit blurry from that point.”

Andrew had been ordering a car when the attack happened but “I looked up and he was bleeding all over his face.” As he made sure Sam was okay, he got a punch in the face, as well.

“I didn’t fall over, but… he struck me again with a piece of glass, I think. It cut my skin and I was bleeding.”

Andrew fought back, but the man’s friends dragged him away. They were eventually apprehended by police, who said the attack had been captured on CCTV.

For the victims, it was a terrifying wakeup call.

“Don’t just assume it’s 2016 and everything’s okay, because clearly what’s happening in the world is affecting people’s judgement and mentality,” said Sam. He added that the LGBT community needs to “check in with each other and make sure we talk more about these things.”

He suggested training on how to face down homophobic abuse or even self-defense classes if things become physical.

“Even yesterday I was thinking maybe I should go back to the gym and do boxing classes. I think people need to know how to look after themselves, whether it be diffusing situations verbally or just knowing how to read the signs… If you fight back when anyone tries to intimidate or threaten you, they’re not as big and brave as they try to come across.”

There have been hundreds of incidents of abuse reported since the presidential election. A Trump supporter who ranted about “Hillary bitches” on a recent Delta flight was banned for life from the airline.