Coup-attempting former President Donald Trump doubled down Wednesday on his lies about the 2020 election and his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol and claimed, again, that his vice president had done “something wrong” by not declaring Trump the winner of the election he had lost.
“That was a rigged election,” Trump lied, barely two minutes into a “town hall” hosted for him by CNN.
“If you look at what happened in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, if you look at what happened in Detroit, Michigan, if you look at what happened in Atlanta, millions of votes, and all you have to do is take a look at government cameras,” Trump said, repeating yet again the same falsehoods that ginned up his followers into attacking the Capitol. “You will see them, people going to 28 different voting booths to vote, to put in seven ballots apiece. I mean, and they’re all on camera.”
Responding to a question about why he waited three hours before telling his mob of followers to stop attacking the Capitol, Trump falsely claimed he had done so soon after 2 p.m.
In reality, that taped video message was not released until 4:17 p.m. — two hours after his supporters had broken into the building while assaulting police officers, and more than 90 minutes after Trump had attacked former Vice President Mike Pence in a tweet for lacking the “courage” to award Trump a second term despite having lost the election by 7 million votes.
That post enraged his followers and led them to swarm the entrances within minutes, according to a video released by the House Jan. 6 committee last summer. Many roamed the halls, searching for Pence and chanting: “Hang Mike Pence!”
Michael Fanone, a former Washington, D.C., police officer who was assaulted and nearly killed by Trump’s mob that day and is now a CNN contributor, said he was appalled by what he saw. “It’s worse than I could have ever imagined. It’s an absolute disaster,” Fanone said. “There’s no way to fact-check this guy in real time. He’s a volcano of bullshit.”
In just the first half hour of the 70-minute broadcast, Trump also defended his claim that women allow celebrities to sexually assault them; mocked and ridiculed the magazine writer a jury found on Tuesday had been sexually abused by Trump; confirmed that he would pardon his supporters who have been convicted for their actions on Jan. 6; and said that the United States should go ahead and default on its debt.
President Joe Biden’s campaign, while Trump was still spewing falsehoods on cable, put out a post on Twitter: “It’s simple, folks. Do you want four more years of that? If you don’t, pitch in to our campaign.”
The event’s moderator, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, frequently tried to cut off Trump’s torrent of lies but had limited success. Trump eventually lashed out at her. “You’re a nasty person,” he said.
Trump again praised Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Chinese dictator Xi Jinping and refused to say whether he supported Ukraine’s efforts to repel Putin’s invasion.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a likely entrant into the 2024 race and the one most willing to go after Trump so far, said Trump’s response is telling. “Donald Trump refused to say tonight that he wanted Ukraine to win the war with Russia. More proof that he continues to be Putin’s puppet,” he wrote in a Twitter post.
Asked about the criminal investigations he is facing for his actions leading up to Jan. 6 and for refusing to turn over top secret documents in defiance of a subpoena, Trump claimed they were all designed to derail his 2024 campaign. “All of these fake investigations against me are about election interference,” he said.
Trump’s campaign has tried to use his agreement to do CNN’s town hall as evidence that he is unafraid of tough questions, unlike his closest rival in the polls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not declared his candidacy but has become famous for avoiding interviews from all but the most friendly news outlets.
Trump himself portrayed CNN’s decision to host him as proof that even organizations that had been critical of him understand that they need him to boost viewership.
“CNN is rightfully desperate to get those fantastic Trump ratings back. They were ratings like none other, and they want them back. They made me a deal I couldn’t refuse,” he said in a video statement he posted to his personal social media platform earlier Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, though, Trump appeared to threaten CNN that it had better be nice to him if it wanted to continue having him on its shows. “They must treat MAGA, the greatest political movement in our Country’s history, with respect,” he said in a Wednesday afternoon post.