HARRISBURG, Pa.—Former President Donald Trump continued his courtship of voters in Pennsylvania, one of a handful of states that could decide the 2024 presidential election, with a wide-ranging town hall discussion on Sept. 4.
So far, Harris has agreed to one debate with Trump, set for Sept. 10 with ABC News in Philadelphia. Trump also invited her to appear on Sept. 25 on CBS News.
Banter between Hannity and Trump on Sept. 4, sprinkled with video montages of Harris’s past statements, filled about 50 minutes that had been allotted—even before a single audience member had been able to ask a question.
Then Trump suggested, “Let’s make two shows” from the footage. Hannity obliged, and the event continued for about 15 more minutes as Dave McCormick, a Republican candidate for Senate, and four attendees sought answers from the former president. Their questions focused on safety, immigration, and the economy. Trump repeated his past pledges to improve on all three of those fronts.
The network was slated to broadcast a prerecorded Hannity interview with Trump later on Sept. 4. The Trump–audience interactions will air during Hannity’s regular time slot on Sept. 5. Other media outlets, including The Epoch Times, were permitted to report on the exchanges only after the first segment was broadcast at 9 p.m. ET on Sept. 4.
ABC Debate: ‘I’m Gonna Let Her Talk’
After Hannity asked what the former president was doing to get ready for next week’s debate with Harris, Trump replied: “I think I’ve been practicing all my life for this stuff. It’ll be an interesting evening.”The former president said debates are unpredictable, so a candidate needs to be nimble. Many before him have prepped extensively only to fail miserably in the heat of debate.
“Everybody has a plan until they get ‘punched in the face,’” Trump said, speaking figuratively.
“A lot depends on ABC. ... I hope they’re going to be fair,” he said, adding that a contract bars the network from providing questions to either candidate in advance of the showdown.
Trump’s strategy? “I’m gonna let her talk,” he said.
That is what he did on June 27 in Atlanta, where CNN hosted a debate between him and President Joe Biden. The incumbent was widely seen to have struggled during that face-off.
Fracking a Big Deal for Pennsylvania
Noting that many thousands of Pennsylvanians depend on fracking for their livelihoods, Trump told the audience, “You have no choice; you’ve gotta vote for me.”Hannity played multiple video clips of Harris making past statements opposing fracking. Trump said he disbelieves her recent statement that she won’t ban the procedure that is used to help extract gas or oil from the ground. He said Democrats’ policies have directly hurt the industry even without an outright ban.
Trump Trending Upward
Hannity noted that the town hall came at a time when Trump was trending upward in some of the polls. Those include a Trafalgar Group poll showing Trump ahead of Harris in Pennsylvania by 2 percentage points.The host said the latest numbers seem to suggest that Harris’s “long-lived honeymoon phase now finally, finally appears to be over.”
In the RealClearPolitics average of opinion polls, Harris was holding a 1.9 percentage point national lead against Trump on Sept. 4. But a few very recent polls were detecting a shift in momentum.
In Rasmussen Reports’ Daily Presidential Tracking Poll on Sept. 4, Trump opened a six-point lead over Harris nationally. However, in Rasmussen’s five-day average, he was only 2 percentage points ahead of her.
Many other polls still show Harris with an edge over Trump nationally, although still within the margin of error, which runs at 3 percentage points or more for most polls.
Contrast With Harris–Walz Accessibility
Hannity noted that Harris has given no solo news conferences since she became the apparent Democratic nominee 45 days prior to the Fox town hall.Hannity contrasted this with the dozens of news conferences and interviews that Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), have given since Biden dropped out of the race.
Heightened Security
Hannity and Trump have appeared together for many broadcasts since Trump first campaigned for president in 2016. But “never before have restrictions been so tight,” Hannity said.In the wake of a gunman’s failed assassination attempt against Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump’s security team insisted on a smaller audience for the Fox town hall, Hannity said. Seating arrangements were also strictly controlled.
No attendance estimate was provided, but the arena, which holds 7,300 people, appeared to be about one-third full.
When Hannity wondered aloud why so many problems with violence and threats persist, Trump replied, “It’s a sick and angry world for a lot of reasons,” although he expressed confidence that he will improve conditions if he wins reelection.
Reassuring ‘Hesitant’ Voters
A woman asked Trump what he had learned from his first term as president that could help to reassure “those that are hesitant to vote for [him] now.”Trump replied that he learned the importance of putting the right people into key positions in his administration.
“I put people in, that in some cases were not what I really wanted. ... I know the good ones, the bad ones, the weak ones, the smart ones, the dumb ones,” he said, his last phrase prompting a chuckle from the audience.
“A big key to running it is getting the right people. ... I know now the people, and I know them better than anybody.”
