![]() ![]() When the town hall came to a close, Chris Christie, who had earlier taken out ads attacking Trump on Facebook, fired off a couple tweets about Trump being “Putin’s puppet.” Vivek Ramaswamy posted videos from the campaign trail. Meanwhile, the other Republicans in the field could do little else but tweet - and few even bothered. 6, saying he was never “in any danger” - Pence used the occasion to hit Joe Biden on his son Hunter’s laptop and echoed a congressional Republican investigation of the matter. And though he only came up briefly in the town hall itself - Trump refused to apologize to Pence for his actions on Jan. But it was as if it took place in a different political universe: Neither Hannity nor Pence made any mention of the town hall. 2 and potential primary rival swooped in for his leftovers, appearing with Sean Hannity in what was billed as a “must-see” interview.Ī senior Pence adviser confirmed to POLITICO the booking was intentional. If Trump’s motivation to subject himself to a CNN town hall was intended to throw an elbow at Fox News, his former No. As the forum was starting, a super PAC supporting DeSantis sent out two press releases - a statement lambasting Trump for participating in a CNN forum, and a polling analysis arguing Trump can’t win a general election.īy the town hall’s end, a spokesperson for the super PAC hit Trump, calling it “over an hour of nonsense that proved Trump is stuck in the past.”īut attempts by Trump’s rivals to keep themselves top of mind highlighted the hopeless situation they have always found themselves in as he steals the spotlight.Īs Trump lapped up the room’s applause, Pence counter-programmed. Other than that, Trump’s top rival in the Republican primary, who has fallen significantly behind him in polling, was barely mentioned at all. Ron DeSantis was the only candidate Trump hit in the town hall, urging the Florida governor to think about his future, because it was, he said, “not looking good.” … and leaves the rest of the pack on the sidelines 6 tweets printed out and show them to the crowd, a moment that received laughter and applause. It was Trump’s idea, according to one adviser, to take out sheets of paper with his Jan. Hours before Trump stepped in front of the camera, CNN was already cutting to shots of an empty stage and previewing the appearance with commentators and chyrons - the type of coverage one would expect ahead of a debate. But it was Trump’s show, and the setup on Wednesday could have made any casual observer believe Trump is already the GOP standard-bearer for 2024. Media observers - including on CNN - cried foul. Trump refused to give direct answers to her questions while attempting to minimize Collins’ sharing of objective facts, telling the crowd she “doesn’t understand.” In an hour-plus-long confrontation with Collins, Trump called a reputable, mainstream reporter a “nasty person” and made dismissive comments that drew laughter from the audience. On Wednesday - and on its own platform - Trump once again turned the network into a foil. Trump rediscovers his foilĮntire political solar systems have been born, swelled and swallowed again since Trump last appeared as an interviewed subject on CNN, but the man himself has not changed. It was a flashing red sign for the rest of the field that Trump will not only continue using the election-grievance rhetoric that has defined his public messaging the last two years - but that Republicans will likely reward him for it. Anselm College was any indication, it wasn’t hurting him at all. Here was the former president getting grilled on some of his biggest vulnerabilities, and if the room at St. CNN had reached out to the New Hampshire GOP ahead of the town hall and invited them, along with other groups in the state, to submit questions and attend the event, according to an email sent to the NHGOP that was obtained by POLITICO.įor Trump’s rivals, it was a foreboding scene. This wasn’t an audience of liberals flown in from the coast. Jean Carroll, the former magazine advice columnist to whom a jury in Manhattan awarded $5 million in damages.Īnd in response to an audience question about whether he would stop using “polarizing” language about the last election being stolen, Trump declined to fully commit to doing so, saying he would continue to cast doubt on the 2024 election if he suspects fraud. There was laughter in the room when he belittled E. ![]()
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