Trump’s Fox News Iowa town hall featured Sean Hannity guiding Trump through all his talking points and, at times, making points for him as the event spotlighted questions about Trump’s ability to be president.
Sometimes Hannity would set Trump up and watch the former president veer wildly off course:
Hannity: It doesn’t seem to bother you (the DOJ 1/6 target letter).
Trump: It bothers me.
Yeah, this is off to a great start. pic.twitter.com/dPvYC6FPKL
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) July 19, 2023
Hannity had to correct Trump when he got his Biden conspiracies confused:
Hannity has to correct Trump as he gets his Biden conspiracy theories confused. pic.twitter.com/BtIv9TMghD
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) July 19, 2023
Hannity devoted multiple segments to the cocaine found at the White House. In each of these, Hannity would deliver a monologue that led Trump by the hand, and the former president would react:
Trump tries to suggest that Joe Biden is on cocaine, “But cocaine is pretty bad, if somebody is taking cocaine and making decisions.” pic.twitter.com/Qrq8CdqCIO
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) July 19, 2023
It is fair to ask if the real reason why Trump is refusing to appear at Republican primary debates is that he might not be able to keep up with the other candidates on the stage.
The Donald Trump talking to Sean Hannity was the same person who was a candidate in 2016 or even the same guy who steamrolled through Kaitlin Collins a few months ago on CNN.
The lies were there. The fantasies were there, but the energy was missing in Trump’s Iowa town hall on Hannity.
The one thing that has changed is that Trump has been federally indicted in the classified documents case, and he appears about to be federally indicted again in Jack Smith’s 1/6 investigation.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has broken Trump. The former president’s energy is gone. Trump soaked up the adoring cheers of the crowd like an oldies act transported back in time to his former glory days.
Donald Trump doesn’t have it anymore. He is laboring under the weight of 71 felony charges.
It speaks volumes about Ron DeSantis and other Republican presidential candidates that even in his current diminished state, Trump is still lapping the 2024 Republican field.
Something was jarring about watching Sean Hannity guide Trump through the town hall. Republicans try to make Biden’s age an issue, but the problem that they are trying to hide is that Donald Trump appears to be unfit and unwell in his third run for the White House.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
