During a Fox News town hall with Laura Ingraham, Trump was thrown a softball on Navalny and disastrously self-destructed.
What did Trump say about Navalny during the Fox News town hall?
Laura Ingraham asked Trump: “I want to give you a chance to dig into this because obviously your opponents have used this to say once again that Putin doesn’t care about human rights or freedom, the freedom movement. So what does it mean? When did you say he made you more aware of your circumstances?
Trump responded: “Navalny is a very sad situation and he is very brave. He was a very brave boy because he went back. He could have stayed away and, frankly, it probably would have been much better to stay away and talk from outside the country instead of having to come back in because people thought it might happen and it did. 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, I’m the leading candidate. I am being indicted. I had never heard of being indicted before. I was about to be indicted four times in eight or nine trials. All because of the fact that I’m, and you know, all because of the fact that I’m in politics, they indicted me for such ridiculous Fani things in Atlanta or…”
Ingraham tried again: “Do you see yourself as a potential political prisoner in the United States? Because their goal is to put you behind bars for the rest of your life.”
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Trump then went on to blather: “If I had lost in the polls, they wouldn’t even be talking about me and I wouldn’t have had any legal fees… if I had been out, I think, even though they hate me so much.” . I think if I got out, they would still go after this guy. We can’t stand this guy. Look, I won an election. It wasn’t supposed to be a winnable thing. Then I did much better. The second time. I won’t go into that, because of Fox. But I want, I did a much better job the second time. We got millions and millions more the second time around. And now we are doing much better than we did the second time and the first time almost together.”
Ingraham actually tried to get Trump to say he’s a political prisoner: “Are you a potential political prisoner, sir?”
Trump continued his incoherent chatter: “Well, I think because I’m doing so well, I’m beating Biden at a level they’ve never seen before. This shouldn’t happen. You know, it’s a lot easier for a Democrat to run for office a lot easier than…”
Ingraham interrupted: “We’re going to take a short break.”
Video:
Trump, when asked about Navalny during the 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’s
When Ingraham asked Trump how he would pay the $355 million he owes New York, Trump said, “It’s a form of Navalny.”
Video:
Ingraham: How will you pay the court fines?
Trump: he is a form of Navalny pic.twitter.com/5TRJOCYaOB
— Biden-Harris Headquarters (@BidenHQ) February 21, 2024
How did Trump perform at the New York City Hall?
Trump was a disaster at the Fox News town hall. In 2016, Trump was very disciplined. He hammered out his lies and talking points over and over again. He was building the wall, locking her up, Hillary’s emails, making America great again, over and over and over again. Trump’s speeches at his rallies in 2016 lasted 30 to 45 minutes. The wheels had already fallen off in 2020, when Trump talked for hours, went off on unrelated tangents and bored many of his supporters to the point that they soon left.
In 2024, Trump struggles to make a coherent point. Nearly 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 town hall, Trump couldn’t keep it together and imploded.
Once voters who aren’t yet paying attention to the election get a dose of this Trump, Republicans could be in big trouble.
but that doesn’t mean he actually has shoes.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the 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