Trump sticks to 2020 election and Jan. 6 protest in CNN Town Hall.

Former President Trump Clashes with CNN Moderator

Former President Donald Trump made headlines on Wednesday as he appeared on CNN for the first major TV event of the 2024 presidential campaign. Moderator Kaitlin Collins tried to school him on the facts of the 2020 election and the subsequent U.S. Capitol protest on Jan. 6, 2021, but Trump refused to cave in.

Trump Refuses to Admit Defeat

Collins tried to get Trump to admit he lost the 2020 election and to disavow claims that it was stolen or rigged. Minutes into his hourlong appearance, Trump declared that only “a very stupid person” would fail to see the problems with the 2020 election. He then said he knows that Collins, a former White House correspondent, is “not stupid at all.”

Then he called out Collins, saying, “But perhaps you are given an agenda.”

Trump Draws Applause from Crowd

Trump drew applause from the crowd of Republican and undeclared voters at the event at St. Amselm College in New Hampshire, when he said, “Look, we have to have honest elections in our country … Let’s just win it again and straighten out our country.”

Trump Defends Jan. 6 Protesters

Collins asked Trump whether he had any regrets about the events of Jan. 6. When she asked why he didn’t disavow violence sooner, Trump produced a printout from his breast pocket and began reciting tweets that showed he had urged people to be peaceful before, during and after the march on the Capitol.

“They thought the election was rigged. They were there proud, with love in their heart … and it was an unbelievable day,” Trump said, adding the crowd was the largest he had ever addressed.

Trump said he was “inclined” to pardon many of the protesters prosecuted for their involvement in the Jan. 6 event, which Democrats labeled an “insurrection.”

Trump also noted that he’d given then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) the chance to have 10,000 National Guard troops to guard the Capitol, but she declined.

Trump Denies Sexual Assault Allegations

Collins introduced Trump on the night by announcing, “He’s the first former president in more than a century to seek a return to the White House, and he is currently leading the Republican field but also facing multiple criminal investigations and an indictment. Just yesterday, he was held liable for sexual abuse and defamation.”

She was referring to a New York jury’s verdict in the case of E. Jean Carroll, a former journalist who alleged Trump sexually assaulted her sometime in the 1970s in a department store. He described Carroll’s account as ludicrous.

“What kind of a woman meets someone, and within moments, you’re playing hanky-panky in a dressing room?” Trump said.

He also repeated his denial of encountering Carroll.

“I don’t know who the hell she is … and I swear on my children, which I never do,” he said.

Trump Talks Ukraine and the Economy

After an audience member asked whether Trump would support sending more money to Ukraine, Collins asked: “Do you want Ukraine to win this war?”

Trump said he doesn’t like to think of “winning” vs. “losing” in such a situation. “I think of it in terms of getting it settled,” he said. “I want everyone to stop dying.” But he needs the power of the presidency to step in and make that happen, Trump said.

Fielding questions from the audience, Trump said he would secure the U.S.-Mexico border and would “drill baby, drill” for oil to immediately improve the economy by lowering energy costs.

Trump also said he is concerned about the nation.

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