As Donald Trump’s two main Republican rivals slugged it out Wednesday on an Iowa debate stage, the former president appeared across town on a Fox News Channel town hall in a counterprogramming move where few discouraging words were heard.
Quick Read
Key points from Donald Trump’s appearance on Fox News during the Republican debate in Iowa:
- Counterprogramming to Rivals’ Debate: Trump appeared on a Fox News town hall simultaneously with the CNN debate featuring his main Republican rivals, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
- Supportive Audience Reception: Trump received a warm welcome, with cheers, chants of “USA,” and expressions of affection from the audience.
- Avoidance of Challenging Topics: The town hall did not delve into controversial issues like Trump’s claims about the 2020 election, his support for Capitol insurrectionists, or his legal defenses claiming immunity from potential crimes while in office.
- Response to Retribution Question: When asked about seeking retribution against his enemies during a potential second term, Trump downplayed the notion, focusing instead on success.
- Fox News’ Handling of Trump: The network’s approach to Trump’s town hall was noted, especially following a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems and past criticisms Trump had about Fox News.
- Prime-Time Slot: Trump’s town hall was scheduled during prime-time, contrasting with non-prime-time slots for DeSantis and Haley’s town halls on Fox.
- Moderation Strategy: Moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum chose not to interrupt Trump with fact-checks, differing from the approach of CNN’s debate moderators.
- Contrast with CNN Debate: The event was marked by less intense questioning compared to CNN’s debate, where Haley and DeSantis faced more rigorous scrutiny.
- Political Violence Question: When asked about political violence, Trump condemned it but quickly shifted to criticizing President Joe Biden.
- Response to Legal Challenges: Trump dismissed legal challenges against him as a “witch hunt” when questioned about potential impact on his campaign.
- Audience Interaction: The town hall featured applause and laughter from the audience, with many self-identifying as Trump supporters.
- Trump’s Strategy: This appearance was part of Trump’s strategy of not participating in debates with his rivals during the pre-primary season.
The Associated Press has the story:
Trump enjoyed a relaxed Fox News town hall as top Republican rivals had fiery debate
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP) —
As Donald Trump’s two main Republican rivals slugged it out Wednesday on an Iowa debate stage, the former president appeared across town on a Fox News Channel town hall in a counterprogramming move where few discouraging words were heard.
Trump walked onstage to cheers and chants of “USA,” stayed at the end to sign autographs and heard one audience member blurt out “love you” after he took her question.
He was barely challenged by questioners who left several challenging topics on the table — like Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election, his support for Capitol insurrectionists and legal arguments this week in which his lawyers claimed he had immunity from any potential crimes he might have conducted while in office.
When asked about his previous statements that a second term as president would be about retribution for his enemies, Trump said he wouldn’t have time for it.
“The ultimate retribution,” he said, “is success.”
It was Trump’s first live appearance on Fox News since 2022, and how the network handled it was closely watched. It came less than a year after Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787 million to settle a lawsuit related to lies told in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Fox instituted a soft ban against Trump in the opening days of the Biden administration, and the former president has complained about some of its personalities being insufficiently loyal to him.
His standing atop 2024 presidential polls, however, put him in a position of strength. While Fox held Iowa town halls with Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley outside of prime-time hours in the past week, Trump’s town hall aired in direct competition with the CNN debate between his two rivals.
Moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum had their own challenge: not to allow the town hall to go off the rails, as a similar town hall televised by CNN last May did, while also not alienating a network audience filled with Trump supporters.
They did it by not interrupting Trump with fact-checks. After Trump criticized how DeSantis responded to COVID as governor of Florida, MacCallum said, “DeSantis would argue with your characterization.” During an abortion discussion, when Trump suggested “radical” Democrats supported killing babies after they were born, it was not challenged.
The event stood in contrast to sharp questioning by CNN’s debate moderators, who put both candidates on the defense at points and revealed some policy differences between Haley and DeSantis.
Baier asked Trump whether he could say that political violence is never acceptable. The former president said, “Of course, that’s right,” but then said that President Joe Biden “is bedlam.”
His court fights came up when MacCallum asked how he’d respond to a DeSantis statement about a potential Trump general election campaign being essentially left up to a jury in a Washington, D.C., courtroom.
“It’s a witch hunt,” Trump said.
He was interrupted several times by applause and even laughter — like when he said about former rival Chris Christie, who was caught on a hot mic Wednesday saying that Haley was going to get “smoked” in the voting, that it was “one of the few things he’s been right about.”
The majority of questioners said they were Trump supporters, including one expected caucusgoer who returned to the former president after attending one of the other candidate town halls, saying she had been undecided.
One man, who said he was a Trump supporter, said some of his friends had turned away from the former president because they feared “four years of chaos due to your haters.”
Trump — and the audience — backed that characterization.
“Most of the chaos was caused by Democrats constantly going after me,” he said, to the audience’s applause.
For Trump, the appearance capped off a pre-primary season where he refused to appear at any debates featuring his rivals.
