During a Fox News town hall with Laura Ingraham, Trump was tossed a softball about Navalny, and he disastrously self-destructed.
What Did Trump Say About Navalny During The Fox News Town Hall?
Laura Ingraham asked Trump, “I want to give you the chance to expand on that because obviously your opponents have used that to say again, pro Putin don’t care about human rights or freedom, the freedom movement. And so what does that mean? When you said it made you more aware of your circumstances?”
Trump answered, “Navalny is a very sad situation and he’s very brave. He was a very brave guy because he went back. He could have stayed away and frankly, probably would have been a lot better off staying away and talking from outside of the country as opposed to having to go back in because people thought that could happen and it did happen. And it’s a horrible thing, but it’s happening in our country too. We are turning into a communist country in many ways. And if you look at it, I’m the leading candidate. I get indicted. I never heard of being indicted before. I was gonna, I got indicted four times I eight or nine trials. All because of the fact that I’m, and you know, this all because of the fact that I’m in politics, they indicted me on things that are so ridiculous of Fani in Atlanta or…”
Ingraham tried again, “Do you, do you see yourself as a potential political prisoner in the United States? Because that’s their goal is to put you in jail behind bars for the rest of your life.”
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Trump then went into full babble, “If I was losing in the polls, they wouldn’t even be talking about me and I wouldn’t have had any legal fees…f I were out, I think, although they hate me so much. I, I think if I got out, they’d still, let’s pursue this guy. We can’t stand this guy. Look, I won an election. That wasn’t supposed to be winnable. I then did much better. The second time. I won’t get into it, because of Fox. But I want, I did a much better job the second time. We got millions and millions of more the second time. And now we’re doing much better than we did the second time and the first time almost put together.”
Ingraham was really tried to get Trump to say that he is a political prisoner, “Are you a, are you a potential political prisoner, sir?”
Trump continued with his incoherent babble, “Well, I think because of the fact that I’m doing so well that I’m beating Biden at a level that they’ve never seen before. This is not supposed to happen. You know, it’s much easier for a Democrat to run much easier than….”
Ingraham cut him off, “We’re gonna take a quick break.”
Video:
Trump, when asked about Navalny during Fox News town hall, said, “It’s happening in our country. We are turning into a communist country in many ways. If you look at it, I’m the leading candidate. ” pic.twitter.com/kdDAPO1LtA
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 21, 2024
Trump Thinks His New York Fine Is Like Navalny
When Ingraham asked Trump how he was going to pay the $355 million he owes New York, Trump said, “It’s a form of Navalny.”
Video:
Ingraham: How are you going to pay for your court fines?
Trump: It is a form of Navalny pic.twitter.com/5TRJOCYaOB
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 21, 2024
How Did Trump Perform At The New York Town Hall?
Trump was a disaster at the Fox News town hall. In 2016, Trump was very disciplined. He hammered his lies and talking points over and over again. It was build the wall, lock her up, Hillary’s emails, make America great again, over and over and over again. Trump’s speeches in 2016 at his rallies were between 30-45 minutes. The wheels had already fallen off by 2020 when Trump would speak for hours, go off on unrelated tangents and bore many of his supporters to the point where they would leave early.
In 2024, Trump struggles to make a coherent point. Almost all of his interviews and appearances involve conservative media or a friendly Kaitlin Collins or Kristen Welker. Even with Laura Ingraham trying to guide him through the town hall, Trump couldn’t keep it together and imploded.
Once voters who aren’t paying attention to the election yet, get a dose of this Trump, Republicans could be in big trouble.
but that doesn’t mean that he actually has the shoes.
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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