5 Takeaways From Trump’s Town Hall With Appreciative Iowa Audience

Former President Donald Trump’s fans in a Fox News audience made it clear: They like his toughness—and they miss the ways his policies benefited America and the world during his presidency.

The town hall-style forum in Clive, Iowa, began and ended with cheers and standing ovations from the crowd, which applauded and whistled when host Sean Hannity said he assumed that almost everyone there would be voting for Trump to become the Republican party’s nominee for president.

Hannity told Trump that he often hears people ask why Trump has to call people names and behave so brashly. They wonder why he doesn’t “tone it down”, Hannity said.

Trump responded: “I won an election. It was unprecedented … and from the day I got in [office], I was under siege … If I wasn’t tough, I wouldn’t be here right now.” That answer drew one of the most sustained cheers of the hourlong event.

Hannity said the “massive, incredible, enthusiastic” audience came out in “rain, thunder and lightning” for the chance to hear Trump speak in person and possibly ask him a question. During the live town hall, only two audience members were able to ask questions. But Hannity said another segment with more audience questions would be videotaped for later broadcast.

Trump’s appearance in a friendlier atmosphere at the more conservative Fox network contrasted sharply with the town hall that left-leaning CNN hosted three weeks ago. Although the CNN audience was filled with Republican voters who seemed mostly Trump-friendly—drawing criticism from CNN’s liberal audience—CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins frequently interrupted Trump and got into contentious exchanges with him.

Hannity said: “Unlike ‘fake news’ CNN, it’s not my job to sit here and debate the candidate. We’re going to ask him about the issues of the day that actually matter to the people.”

Here are five takeaways from Hannity’s interview and the two audience questions:

• Veteran Misses Trump: The first question from the audience came from a man named Mike who was wearing a Trump T-shirt with the words, “Do you miss me?”
• Energy Prices, Inflation, Taxes Too High: Another audience member asked Trump what he would do to fix the economy; Trump said, “Inflation is a killer of countries … it’s a cancer to a country.”
• Better Than Biden, Others: Trump said it doesn’t really bother him that the Republican field of candidates for the presidency is growing.

Details from the Audience Questions:

Veteran Misses Trump

A man named Mike, a veteran who used medical services through the Veteran’s Administration (VA), asked Trump why wait times increased dramatically within a month of his departure from office. Mike said he had to wait up to eight months for subsequent appointments.

When he asked why, Trump said, “They let the system break.”

Energy Prices, Inflation, Taxes Too High

Another audience member asked Trump what he would do to fix the economy; Trump said, “Inflation is a killer of countries … it’s a cancer to a country.”

He said he would return to increasing oil production, which would help energy prices to decrease, followed by overall inflation.

“Our economy right now is a total mess,” Trump said.

The audience applauded when he reminded them that gasoline was at $1.87 a gallon or even lower while he was in office, in contrast to today’s prices. The current national average is $3.57 per gallon, according to AAA.

Fans also cheered Trump for cutting taxes and providing $28 billion in subsidies to farmers, funded with tariffs on Chinese imports.

Better Than Biden, Others

Trump said it doesn’t really bother him that the Republican field of candidates for the presidency is growing. But he also said he couldn’t figure out why some of the candidates are entering the race or continuing when they have little or no chance of winning.

“The one who’s second” in the polls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, stated that it would take two terms—eight years—to clean up the mess our nation now faces. But Trump, who has already served four years, could only serve one more term. Trump responded that he only needed six months to get the economy “hopping.”

“If he needs eight years, don’t vote for him,” Trump said.

Trump only took a few swipes at Democrat President Joe Biden, even though Hannity pointed out the president’s embarrassing fall at an Air Force Academy graduation in Colorado earlier in the day.

In fact, Trump revealed that he had previously counseled Hannity that he shouldn’t make light of Biden’s apparent deteriorating physical condition.

Trump and Hannity both said polls are showing that Trump has the best chance of winning the Republican nomination and the presidency in 2024.