05-11-2023, 10:44 AM
I have said before that Trump's lack of "filter" was in great part what attracted his base to him;
but I want to revise that a bit because he is clearly filtering some of his answers now, especially on support
for Ukraine and a national abortion ban. The filter still comes off when discussing his own indecency and illegal
behavior though--a lawyer's nightmare.
He claimed he would stop the Ukraine war in 23 hrs and called the reporter interviewing him "nasty" as she
tried to fact check what one commentator called a "hurricane of lies"--.e.g., I completed the wall, built hundreds of
miles; Putin would never have invaded if I were in office. Already liable for millions in the Carroll defamation suit,
he continued to defame her on a national stage, so that may not be over.
Five takeaways from Trump’s unruly CNN Town Hall
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/five-takeaways-from-trumps-unruly-cnn-town-hall/
Trump won’t let go of his lies about 2020 or Jan. 6.
“A beautiful day,” he said of Jan. 6.
It was a reminder that embracing the deadly violence of that day — at least for Republicans — is no longer seen as disqualifying. Privately, Trump’s team said they were happy with how he handled the extensive time spent on the postelection period during the town hall.
The GOP audience stacked the deck, but revealed where the base is
The audience’s regular interruptions on behalf of Trump were like a laugh track on a sitcom. It built momentum for him in the room — and on-screen for the television audience — and stifled Collins as she repeatedly tried to interrupt him with facts and correctives....
He would pardon a “large portion” of Jan. 6 rioters. Applause.
He mocked the detailed accusations of rape from E. Jean Carroll as made up “hanky-panky in a dressing room.” Laughter. No matter that a New York jury held him liable for sexual abuse and defamation this week, awarding Carroll $5 million in damages.
Calling Carroll a “wack job.” Applause and laughs.
Flip-flopping on using the debt ceiling for leverage, because “I’m not president.” More laughs.
Republicans cheered, but so did Democrats looking to the general election
Biden’s team had changed the televisions on Air Force One from CNN to MSNBC as he returned from New York on Wednesday evening. But that didn’t mean his political team was not eagerly watching the town hall unfold, and cheering along with the Republican audience.
Trump defended Jan. 6 as a “beautiful day.” He hailed the overturning of Roe v. Wade as a “great victory.” He wouldn’t say if he hoped Ukraine would win the war against Russia. He talked again about how the rich and famous get their way. “Women let you,” he said. And he refused to rule out reimposing one of the most incendiary and divisive policies of his term in office: purposefully separating families at the border.
Trump aggressively dodged taking a stance on a federal abortion ban
Before the town hall, his team spent considerable time honing his answer to a question they knew he would be asked: Would he support a federal ban, and at how many weeks?
His repeated dodges and euphemisms were hard to miss on Wednesday.
“Getting rid of Roe v. Wade was an incredible thing for pro-life,” he began.
That was about as specific as he would get. He said he was “honored to have done what I did” — a line Democrats had quickly flagged as potential fodder for future ads — and that it was a “great victory.”
He deepened his legal jeopardy with comments on investigations
The most heated exchange that Trump had with Collins was over the special counsel investigation into his possession of hundreds of presidential records, including more than 300 individual classified documents, at his private club, Mar-a-Lago, after he left office....
“I was there and I took what I took and it gets declassified,” said Trump, who has maintained, despite contradictions from his own former officials, that he had a standing order automatically declassifying documents that left the Oval Office and went to the president’s residence.
“I had every right to do it, I didn’t make a secret of it. You know, the boxes were stationed outside the White House, people were taking pictures of it,” Trump said, intimating that people were somehow aware that presidential material and classified documents were in them (they were not).
In what will be of great interest to the special counsel, Jack Smith, Trump would not definitively rule out whether he showed classified material to people, something investigators have queried witnesses about, in particular in connection with a map with sensitive intelligence.
but I want to revise that a bit because he is clearly filtering some of his answers now, especially on support
for Ukraine and a national abortion ban. The filter still comes off when discussing his own indecency and illegal
behavior though--a lawyer's nightmare.
He claimed he would stop the Ukraine war in 23 hrs and called the reporter interviewing him "nasty" as she
tried to fact check what one commentator called a "hurricane of lies"--.e.g., I completed the wall, built hundreds of
miles; Putin would never have invaded if I were in office. Already liable for millions in the Carroll defamation suit,
he continued to defame her on a national stage, so that may not be over.
Five takeaways from Trump’s unruly CNN Town Hall
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/five-takeaways-from-trumps-unruly-cnn-town-hall/
Trump won’t let go of his lies about 2020 or Jan. 6.
“A beautiful day,” he said of Jan. 6.
It was a reminder that embracing the deadly violence of that day — at least for Republicans — is no longer seen as disqualifying. Privately, Trump’s team said they were happy with how he handled the extensive time spent on the postelection period during the town hall.
The GOP audience stacked the deck, but revealed where the base is
The audience’s regular interruptions on behalf of Trump were like a laugh track on a sitcom. It built momentum for him in the room — and on-screen for the television audience — and stifled Collins as she repeatedly tried to interrupt him with facts and correctives....
He would pardon a “large portion” of Jan. 6 rioters. Applause.
He mocked the detailed accusations of rape from E. Jean Carroll as made up “hanky-panky in a dressing room.” Laughter. No matter that a New York jury held him liable for sexual abuse and defamation this week, awarding Carroll $5 million in damages.
Calling Carroll a “wack job.” Applause and laughs.
Flip-flopping on using the debt ceiling for leverage, because “I’m not president.” More laughs.
Republicans cheered, but so did Democrats looking to the general election
Biden’s team had changed the televisions on Air Force One from CNN to MSNBC as he returned from New York on Wednesday evening. But that didn’t mean his political team was not eagerly watching the town hall unfold, and cheering along with the Republican audience.
Trump defended Jan. 6 as a “beautiful day.” He hailed the overturning of Roe v. Wade as a “great victory.” He wouldn’t say if he hoped Ukraine would win the war against Russia. He talked again about how the rich and famous get their way. “Women let you,” he said. And he refused to rule out reimposing one of the most incendiary and divisive policies of his term in office: purposefully separating families at the border.
Trump aggressively dodged taking a stance on a federal abortion ban
Before the town hall, his team spent considerable time honing his answer to a question they knew he would be asked: Would he support a federal ban, and at how many weeks?
His repeated dodges and euphemisms were hard to miss on Wednesday.
“Getting rid of Roe v. Wade was an incredible thing for pro-life,” he began.
That was about as specific as he would get. He said he was “honored to have done what I did” — a line Democrats had quickly flagged as potential fodder for future ads — and that it was a “great victory.”
He deepened his legal jeopardy with comments on investigations
The most heated exchange that Trump had with Collins was over the special counsel investigation into his possession of hundreds of presidential records, including more than 300 individual classified documents, at his private club, Mar-a-Lago, after he left office....
“I was there and I took what I took and it gets declassified,” said Trump, who has maintained, despite contradictions from his own former officials, that he had a standing order automatically declassifying documents that left the Oval Office and went to the president’s residence.
“I had every right to do it, I didn’t make a secret of it. You know, the boxes were stationed outside the White House, people were taking pictures of it,” Trump said, intimating that people were somehow aware that presidential material and classified documents were in them (they were not).
In what will be of great interest to the special counsel, Jack Smith, Trump would not definitively rule out whether he showed classified material to people, something investigators have queried witnesses about, in particular in connection with a map with sensitive intelligence.
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
![[Image: giphy.gif]](https://media0.giphy.com/media/1kwsTjL8BNqlszNtnCE/giphy.gif)
