Donald Trump’s presence at the Townhall forum comes following a range of controversies. Here are the major takeaways from his most recent public appearance.
A look into the events leading to Trump’s Townhall forum
Donald Trump appeared in a televised town hall event in New Hampshire on Wednesday as a part of his campaign for the 2024 Presidential elections. Town hall forums have a live audience with one candidate being interviewed by a host. This time around it was Kaitlin Collins, a CNN author. While Trump previously called the CNN “fake news” channel, he has recently embraced mainstream news hoping for greater coverage. Moreover, his presence in the forum is significant following the recent range of controversies surrounding him.
Since his last major public appearance, he was banned from and returned to Twitter, a part of the Capitol Hill hearings, the center of the Stormy Daniels case, and indicted. Additionally, hours before the forum, he was found guilty of a sexual assault that took place 30 years ago.
What are the major takeaways from the event?
There were no major shifts in Trump’s way of speaking and he seems to be sticking to the formula that made him successful in the 2016 race. The Associated Press called the forum “a throwback: Trump with the long, twisting answers; the interviewer at times struggling to fact-check him or return his focus to the question at hand; and then, eventually, both talking over each other as Trump flings insults her way.” He defended the Access Hollywood tape in addition to claiming he was innocent of charges of sexual assault. When Collins questioned him about the verdict, Trump denied all charges.
The former President also parrotted his claims of the 2020 elections being “rigged”. He also called it a “shame” before the host cut him off, correcting him. She asked him to publicly acknowledge his loss to President Biden, which he did not. “I think that, when you look at that result and when you look at what happened during that election. Unless you’re a very stupid person, you see what happens,” answered Trump. He also called the Russian President “a smart guy,” and called Putin’s war on Ukraine a “bad mistake” by Putin. Finally, Trump took credit for appointing the conservating judges to the Supreme Court which eventually led to the curtailment of abortion rights in the US.