'He Was Lying Through His Teeth.' ABC Town Hall Participants Weigh In On Trump's Performance

Voters stood up and spoke the truth to President Trump on Tuesday evening. And Trump had a really onerous time popping out of his Fox bubble to face actual questions. That is what made the ABC city corridor so vital to see.

So how did it go? Did the questioners really feel like they had been heard? Did they really feel just like the president addressed their concerns? I reached out to all of the individuals I may discover because the taped city corridor was broadcast on ABC. A number of of the questioners weren’t simply Googleable. However three individuals responded instantly, starting with Carl Day, the Philadelphia pastor who requested Trump this query: “When has America been nice for African Individuals within the ghetto of America?”

Trump talked concerning the pre-Covid economic system and cited “great African American help.” Day pressed him for historic context. When was America “nice?” Trump nonetheless did not reply. “I do not really feel like he adequately answered it,” Day instructed me, “however primarily in doing so, he truly did. America was by no means nice for black Individuals within the ghetto.”

Paul Tubiana of Bethlehem, PA was the primary questioner. He requested: “Mr. President, I voted for you in 2016. I am a conservative, pro-life and diabetic. I’ve needed to dodge individuals who do not care about social distancing and carrying face masks. I assumed you had been doing job with the pandemic response till about Might 1. Then you definately took your foot off the gasoline pedal. Why did you throw susceptible individuals like me underneath the bus?”

I held my breath. Trump has by no means been challenged about his mishandling of the pandemic fairly like that earlier than. Trump’s preliminary response: “Nicely, we actually did not, Paul.” After which he blamed China and promised that “we’re inside weeks of getting” a vaccine.

“He did not reply something,” Tubiana instructed me afterward. “He was mendacity by way of his enamel.”

Tubiana is like so many individuals: Because the pandemic raged, “I used to be feeling scared, alone and powerless,” he mentioned. He mentioned “there have been failures of presidency on either side of the aisle” final winter and spring, however he felt like Trump stopped offering management because the disaster continued from spring to summer time. He mentioned he thought Trump caught to “canned responses” on the city corridor.

Trump ‘reanimated me to vote’

Ellesia Blaque, an English professor at Kutztown College, introduced up well being care: Blaque was born with sarcoidosis and mentioned she’ll die with out the remedy coated by her costly insurance coverage plan. Blaque requested what he’s doing to guard individuals like her, and he dodged.

“He did not reply my query,” Blaque mentioned.

She mentioned she left the occasion fuming — however resolved to do one thing about it. Going into the city corridor, she mentioned, she was “on the fence” about voting in any respect in 2020. That is why she certified as an uncommitted voter by ABC’s commonplace. However now, she mentioned, “I’ll vote for Biden.” Trump “reanimated me to vote.”

>> To make sure, different questioners might have been thrilled by the president’s solutions. These are the three individuals who replied to me on deadline.

Notes and quotes concerning the city corridor

— One in all WaPo’s fact-checks: “Trump says he could not have slowed coronavirus, although consultants have mentioned he may…”

— Daniel Dale’s recap of a cringe-worthy second towards the tip of the city corridor: “A crying voter tells Trump at size about how her mother, a fellow immigrant, died of most cancers, and asks a query on her mother’s behalf about immigration. Trump repeatedly talks about how her mother died of ‘Covid.'”

— The NYT’s Maggie Haberman: “Trump, by solely doing rallies and virtually by no means doing city corridor boards, has been insulated from the type of voter interactions that normally assist incumbents as they’re operating. However he craves adulation and plenty of of his aides allow it, so this town hall is bracing for him.”

— The LAT’s Chris Megerian: “It is putting how little new the president has to say. He is principally recycling the identical issues he is been saying for months or years.”

— Susan Glasser: “Trump is like an American vacationer overseas. He says the identical factor again and again, simply getting louder every time, solely unable to speak the language of his interlocutor and even attempting.”

— Fox’s framing on “The Ingraham Angle” proper after the city corridor ended: “ABC SPRINGS AMBUSH ON PRES TRUMP AT TOWN HALL.” The not-so-subtle message: Keep on Fox, do not stray…

Views from the precise and left…

Trump 2020 authorized adviser Jenna Ellis wrote: “Are you able to think about Sleepy Joe answering these questions and being interrupted by George and even simply following the dialog??”

When Trump criticized Joe Biden for not following by way of on a nationwide masks mandate, Biden responded on Twitter, “To be clear: I’m not at the moment president.” Then he used the second to ask for donations. Biden may have his flip in a city corridor setting on CNN Thursday night…

Darcy says Stephanopoulos was steamrolled

Oliver Darcy writes: “I discovered it reasonably maddening to observe the George Stephanopoulos particular with Trump. All through the 90-minute city corridor, he didn’t ask apparent follow-up questions as POTUS rambled and unfold misinfo. As an example, Trump repeatedly mentioned that ‘lots of people assume the masks usually are not good.’ After letting him get away with that assertion a pair occasions, Stephanopoulos lastly requested Trump who has made that declare. Trump replied that ‘waiters’ had, handing the moderator a simple follow-up on a platter — no pun supposed. However Stephanopoulos apparently did not discover that reply price interrogating, and he moved on. It was irritating to see, particularly after Jonathan Swan confirmed how efficient it may be to only ask fundamental follow-ups.”

>> Darcy provides: “I pictured viewers at dwelling shouting at their TV units. ‘You may have a well being plan able to go? WHY HAVEN’T YOU UNVEILED IT?’ And so forth…”

>> Olivia Nuzzi tweeted, “I perceive you need to choose your battles while you interview this president. However to date, there’s been little or no comply with up” to “Trump’s most dishonest and complicated statements.” Later, she mentioned “Stephanopoulos’s method has been principally passive, and even his interjections have been fairly pleasant. Whose pursuits does this serve?”

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