It went full shit show: trump's town hall

[Pom]

abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-abc-news-town-hall-full-transcript/story?id=73035489

I couldn't stand to watch, but the clips I saw so far are WOW. Does his campaign have any clue that his base alone is not going to get him reelected? 

He blamed Joe Biden (not the President) for the United States NOT HAVING A NATIONAL MASK MANDATE.  :::head desk:::

[mrspez07]

This one right here was LOL for me, and it’s only the first question. (I can imagine Stephanopoulos mentally banging his head on a desk):

TRUMP: Well, we have 20 percent of the cases because of the fact that we do much more testing. If we wouldn’t do testing you wouldn’t have cases. You would have very few cases.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But these are actual cases.

ETA: I had to stop reading by about person #5, ugh

[Velar Fricative]

My "favorite" was when Trump was going on and on about people not liking masks, and George asking him "what people???" and he finally gave an answer - "waiters." It was so random and I laughed so hard. Won't someone think of the waiters?

(And FYI, I do think of the waiters. I feel awful for the restaurant industry right now.)

[Pom]

I think GS did a terrific job as well as the citizens that asked good questions. The poor orange turd didn’t do so well without his usual slow pitch questions and his uninterrupted rants.

[cous0226]

I’m so happy it went horribly wrong. It shows how out of touch he is from reality and he doesn’t get it at Fox News town halls. Everyone needs to see the shit show because not everyone keeps up with this shit daily like we do. If they tuned in last night in all his mess, I’m good with it.

[mrshandy]

Oh man I hope some of these quotes end up in a Biden add.

What a dumbass.

[imojoebunny]

I don't know how the people who interview him keep a straight face and remain respectful.

[noodleoo]

When do the debates start? I want to say I'm sad I missed this, but I'm not sure I could have watched it. I can barely stand hearing him speak, but I will be watching the debates.

[minzy]

Sept 16, 2020 9:49:08 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

When do the debates start?

Sept 29, Oct 15, Oct 22. 9pm eastern.
VP debate Oct 7

www.google.com/amp/s/www.marieclaire.com/politics/amp33598676/presidential-debates-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-schedule/

[ECB]

Don't forget "Herd mentality". I LOL'd at that one.

His base will never ever falter, but I DO hope that there are still enough people on the edges who keep TRYING to make excuses who watched this and realize "oh shit."

[Velar Fricative]

Sept 16, 2020 10:01:03 GMT -5 ECB said:

Don't forget "Herd mentality". I LOL'd at that one.

His base will never ever falter, but I DO hope that there are still enough people on the edges who keep TRYING to make excuses who watched this and realize "oh shit."

Well supposedly the voters in the audience yesterday were undecideds in PA but even then I was like "uhhhh most of these people sound VERY decided but okay." 

[eddy]

Sept 16, 2020 10:01:03 GMT -5 ECB said:

Don't forget "Herd mentality". I LOL'd at that one.

His base will never ever falter, but I DO hope that there are still enough people on the edges who keep TRYING to make excuses who watched this and realize "oh shit."

Or at the very least this helps the people who are meh about voting in general. 

the people who know he is worthless, but also not quite sure if they are going to go through the motions of voting. Those are the people we need to keep reminding what a dumpster fire he is.

[mbcdefg]

Sept 16, 2020 8:36:56 GMT -5 Pom said:

abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-abc-news-town-hall-full-transcript/story?id=73035489
Does his campaign have any clue that his base alone is not going to get him reelected? :

I know the people on his team are just like him - evil narcissists who’ve led a privileged life of always getting their way and bullshitting their way out of any repercussions ...

But I do wonder if they’re setting him up for failure. Maybe because they’re tired of all this/never wanted it in the first place, because they’re opportunistic backstabbers who want to humiliate him and maybe grab power for themselves.

Trump’s people are definitely a bunch of clueless jerks. But there’s no way that the people arranging events like this are as stupid as he is.

[mbcdefg]

Sept 16, 2020 10:13:33 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Sept 16, 2020 10:01:03 GMT -5 ECB said:

Don't forget "Herd mentality". I LOL'd at that one.

His base will never ever falter, but I DO hope that there are still enough people on the edges who keep TRYING to make excuses who watched this and realize "oh shit."

Well supposedly the voters in the audience yesterday were undecideds in PA but even then I was like "uhhhh most of these people sound VERY decided but okay." 

I can’t believe that there’s anyone in this country who is truly
“Undecided.” They’re trying to justify to themselves why they’re not bad people for voting Trump over Biden. Biden is absolutely not perfect and has a bunch of baggage and flaws and mistakes, but he can’t be compared to Trump and Co. actively truly to dismantle the country while they rob it blind.

[cous0226]

Sept 16, 2020 9:49:08 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

When do the debates start? I want to say I'm sad I missed this, but I'm not sure I could have watched it. I can barely stand hearing him speak, but I will be watching the debates.

I'm nervous about the debates and how Biden will approach them.  He is very set in his ways and is grossed out by 45 but he needs to be effective and make the debate productive.  I don't want to hear 'Cmon man' answers from him.   I hope his team really works on that with him.   He needs to come with facts because 45 is going to try and make a show out of it and get Biden to get in the dirt with him. Biden needs to maintain his cool.    

[thelurkylulu]

He is such a mess and I don’t understand how his supporters don’t see it. They’re deflecting on social media by sharing videos of Biden saying he’s incompetent, how Trump is going to own him in the debates. One former coworker even posted about Biden coughing the other day and how he’s “laying the groundwork to test positive for COVID before the first debate because he’s scared of Trump”. Yes, Karen. I’m sure that’s it.

Literally nothing this idiot does, or says, is going to change the minds of his cult base.

[noodleoo]

Sept 16, 2020 10:27:06 GMT -5 cous0226 said:

Sept 16, 2020 9:49:08 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

When do the debates start? I want to say I'm sad I missed this, but I'm not sure I could have watched it. I can barely stand hearing him speak, but I will be watching the debates.

I'm nervous about the debates and how Biden will approach them.  He is very set in his ways and is grossed out by 45 but he needs to be effective and make the debate productive.  I don't want to hear 'Cmon man' answers from him.   I hope his team really works on that with him.   He needs to come with facts because 45 is going to try and make a show out of it and get Biden to get in the dirt with him. Biden needs to maintain his cool.    

I totally agree.  I'm curious to see how they go and especially curious compared to when Trump debated Hillary.  I too hate Biden's "Cmon Man" answers and is one of the reasons I was not a fan of his before.  I saw him on Stephen Colbert and he was so well spoken, I was surprised and impressed.  I hope he goes that route during the debates.  

[anonymous]

I don’t care how dumb his answers were. Instead I’m giving abc a huge side eye for giving him this opportunity when they know he’s a huge freaking liar and the fact they they say they would “fact check” will do nothing. Some people will watch this, say he seemed reasonable, and vote for him. I really just think it was foolish and dangerous of the network

[DotAndBuzz]

Sept 16, 2020 10:15:38 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Sept 16, 2020 8:36:56 GMT -5 Pom said:

abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-abc-news-town-hall-full-transcript/story?id=73035489
Does his campaign have any clue that his base alone is not going to get him reelected? :

I know the people on his team are just like him - evil narcissists who’ve led a privileged life of always getting their way and bullshitting their way out of any repercussions ...

But I do wonder if they’re setting him up for failure. Maybe because they’re tired of all this/never wanted it in the first place, because they’re opportunistic backstabbers who want to humiliate him and maybe grab power for themselves.

Trump’s people are definitely a bunch of clueless jerks. But there’s no way that the people arranging events like this are as stupid as he is.

I don't think they're setting him up for failure.

I think he's so arrogant, and so narcissistic, that he TRULY believes he will do great in all formats, and that anyone who says he did bad is just being "unfair." They may try to nudge him one way or another, but ultimately he doesn't give a single shit what anyone else tells him. He's incapable of self reflection, or self evaluation, so as long as he thinks it's a good idea, he'll do it.

However, I won't be surprised if we only see one debate from him. It's going to be a train wreck, and he could very well decide that it was "biased and unfair," so he'll just bail on the others. 

[cosmowife]

Sept 16, 2020 10:45:16 GMT -5 anonymous said:

I don’t care how dumb his answers were. Instead I’m giving abc a huge side eye for giving him this opportunity when they know he’s a huge freaking liar and the fact they they say they would “fact check” will do nothing. Some people will watch this, say he seemed reasonable, and vote for him. I really just think it was foolish and dangerous of the network

I just read the transcript, but it definitely seemed like even thought the host and even the viewers pushed back repeatedly, Trump always managed to get the last word in (and it was always some sort of ridiculous and untrue statement). Then the host would move on to the next question. Frustrating.

[Pom]

Sept 16, 2020 10:57:34 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Sept 16, 2020 10:45:16 GMT -5 anonymous said:

I don’t care how dumb his answers were. Instead I’m giving abc a huge side eye for giving him this opportunity when they know he’s a huge freaking liar and the fact they they say they would “fact check” will do nothing. Some people will watch this, say he seemed reasonable, and vote for him. I really just think it was foolish and dangerous of the network

Eh, stephanolpolous didn't let him get away with anything an held his feet to the fire more than almost any other anchor or network has. Trump looked so bad in this town hall, i hope he has the chance to do a few more! Although his base may still defend him, i don't think he gained any voters.

I’m here. His base will never be swayed. But he claims he never gets airtime and it was given to him as a candidate on a non cable network. Non Fox watching voters need to hear him lie during the questioning by regular Americans.

[cous0226]

Sept 16, 2020 10:40:43 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Sept 16, 2020 10:27:06 GMT -5 cous0226 said:

I'm nervous about the debates and how Biden will approach them.  He is very set in his ways and is grossed out by 45 but he needs to be effective and make the debate productive.  I don't want to hear 'Cmon man' answers from him.   I hope his team really works on that with him.   He needs to come with facts because 45 is going to try and make a show out of it and get Biden to get in the dirt with him. Biden needs to maintain his cool.    

I totally agree.  I'm curious to see how they go and especially curious compared to when Trump debated Hillary.  I too hate Biden's "Cmon Man" answers and is one of the reasons I was not a fan of his before.  I saw him on Stephen Colbert and he was so well spoken, I was surprised and impressed.  I hope he goes that route during the debates.  

Biden is just so exhausted as we all are but sometimes people just show up for debate night and he needs to be disciplined.  I can picture in my head how pissed off 45 will get during Chris Wallace questions about covid.  The first thing 45 will talk about is the China ban because that is literally the same answer he gives every.single.time.  Then he's going to get pissed off and ask Chris Wallace to ask Biden about Hunter and Ukraine lol.    

[wanderingback]

Sept 16, 2020 10:45:16 GMT -5 anonymous said:

I don’t care how dumb his answers were. Instead I’m giving abc a huge side eye for giving him this opportunity when they know he’s a huge freaking liar and the fact they they say they would “fact check” will do nothing. Some people will watch this, say he seemed reasonable, and vote for him. I really just think it was foolish and dangerous of the network

I'm not a journalist, so I don't know the answer to this, but is it unethical to cover/interview a known liar?
I definitely stopped watching CNN long ago because there is no reason to cover trump every single day and every single tweet, so I think there is a line. But interviewing him or having a town hall at all, is that really the line? Obviously I hate trump, but I don't think it's fair to say that news networks should never interview him. That's not what democracy is about, that's a slippery slope. 

[formerlyak]

Sept 16, 2020 10:30:03 GMT -5 thelurkylulu said:

He is such a mess and I don’t understand how his supporters don’t see it. They’re deflecting on social media by sharing videos of Biden saying he’s incompetent, how Trump is going to own him in the debates. One former coworker even posted about Biden coughing the other day and how he’s “laying the groundwork to test positive for COVID before the first debate because he’s scared of Trump”. Yes, Karen. I’m sure that’s it.

Literally nothing this idiot does, or says, is going to change the minds of his cult base.

WRT how supporters don't see it, it is like a cult. They didn't like something about Obama's tenure or didn't want Hillary because she was a woman and emails and whatever, and wanted change. So they decided to vote for Trump. Then, they fell into two categories - those who started to see what he was doing and are like "hell no, not again!" and those who doubled down and hold on to every bit of info Trump and his team feeds them because Dems are evil and Biden is a lifer in politics and all lives matter and the economy and MAGA and ... I could go on. And all the sound bites sound great out of context, and like a cult, they latch on the the sound bites and push them with 4th rate "research" that backs what they want to believe. They are in so deep that they can't admit they have been had without some type of intervention. But, anyone trying to get them to see what is literally going on right in front of us all is a "sheep". It's scary.

[Velar Fricative]

Sept 16, 2020 10:30:03 GMT -5 thelurkylulu said:

He is such a mess and I don’t understand how his supporters don’t see it. They’re deflecting on social media by sharing videos of Biden saying he’s incompetent, how Trump is going to own him in the debates. One former coworker even posted about Biden coughing the other day and how he’s “laying the groundwork to test positive for COVID before the first debate because he’s scared of Trump”. Yes, Karen. I’m sure that’s it.

Literally nothing this idiot does, or says, is going to change the minds of his cult base.

They don’t see it because...well, because they don’t see it. Literally. They are spoonfed his greatest hits and tweets and along with that, they get the worst of Biden. They truly live in an alternate universe.

[anonymous]

Sept 16, 2020 11:35:15 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Sept 16, 2020 10:45:16 GMT -5 anonymous said:

I don’t care how dumb his answers were. Instead I’m giving abc a huge side eye for giving him this opportunity when they know he’s a huge freaking liar and the fact they they say they would “fact check” will do nothing. Some people will watch this, say he seemed reasonable, and vote for him. I really just think it was foolish and dangerous of the network

I'm not a journalist, so I don't know the answer to this, but is it unethical to cover/interview a known liar?
I definitely stopped watching CNN long ago because there is no reason to cover trump every single day and every single tweet, so I think there is a line. But interviewing him or having a town hall at all, is that really the line? Obviously I hate trump, but I don't think it's fair to say that news networks should never interview him. That's not what democracy is about, that's a slippery slope. 

I get this POV too. It just seems like he got so much press in 2016 bc he said horrible things and that contributed to his election. I worry the format of last night does the same

[carmenere]

Sept 16, 2020 10:18:18 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Sept 16, 2020 10:13:33 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Well supposedly the voters in the audience yesterday were undecideds in PA but even then I was like "uhhhh most of these people sound VERY decided but okay." 

I can’t believe that there’s anyone in this country who is truly
“Undecided.” They’re trying to justify to themselves why they’re not bad people for voting Trump over Biden. Biden is absolutely not perfect and has a bunch of baggage and flaws and mistakes, but he can’t be compared to Trump and Co. actively truly to dismantle the country while they rob it blind.

I believe there are people who are undecided about whether they're going to make the effort to vote. They need to be reminded what's at stake if they don't get out to vote for Biden or do vote for Trump.

I really, really hope Biden isn't shy about calling out Trump's lies. 

[Dumbledork]

Sept 16, 2020 11:35:15 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Sept 16, 2020 10:45:16 GMT -5 anonymous said:

I don’t care how dumb his answers were. Instead I’m giving abc a huge side eye for giving him this opportunity when they know he’s a huge freaking liar and the fact they they say they would “fact check” will do nothing. Some people will watch this, say he seemed reasonable, and vote for him. I really just think it was foolish and dangerous of the network

I'm not a journalist, so I don't know the answer to this, but is it unethical to cover/interview a known liar?
I definitely stopped watching CNN long ago because there is no reason to cover trump every single day and every single tweet, so I think there is a line. But interviewing him or having a town hall at all, is that really the line? Obviously I hate trump, but I don't think it's fair to say that news networks should never interview him. That's not what democracy is about, that's a slippery slope. 

I’m here. This isn’t like when he went on Fallon and had his hair fluffed.From the few clips I’ve seen, some of the people asking questions could barely contain their fuck you and I don’t think they let him off or humanized his hate.

[mbcdefg]

Sept 16, 2020 12:10:27 GMT -5 carmenere said:

Sept 16, 2020 10:18:18 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

I can’t believe that there’s anyone in this country who is truly
“Undecided.” They’re trying to justify to themselves why they’re not bad people for voting Trump over Biden. Biden is absolutely not perfect and has a bunch of baggage and flaws and mistakes, but he can’t be compared to Trump and Co. actively truly to dismantle the country while they rob it blind.

I believe there are people who are undecided about whether they're going to make the effort to vote. They need to be reminded what's at stake if they don't get out to vote for Biden or do vote for Trump.

I really, really hope Biden isn't shy about calling out Trump's lies. 

I would genuinely like to learn how best to reach people who aren’t aware that not voting can have disastrous consequences. Non-voters are a huge reason of why Trump is President. I totally understand that Biden isn’t the favorite candidate by a long shot, but I don’t know what messaging is needed to get people to vote him out. Biden is far from perfect but he can’t be compared to Trump. And the more time Trump gets in office, the lower the chance of someday fixing the system (which seems to be the argument from a lot of the “well Bernie didn’t win so fuck it, I’m not voting!!!” chucklefucks that I’ve seen).

If nothing else, get Trump out of there and give Biden four years to try and right the ship, and then by all means work toward a better candidate for 2024.

[Dumbledork]

Sept 16, 2020 12:26:00 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Sept 16, 2020 12:10:27 GMT -5 carmenere said:

I believe there are people who are undecided about whether they're going to make the effort to vote. They need to be reminded what's at stake if they don't get out to vote for Biden or do vote for Trump.

I really, really hope Biden isn't shy about calling out Trump's lies. 

I would genuinely like to learn how best to reach people who aren’t aware that not voting can have disastrous consequences. Non-voters are a huge reason of why Trump is President. I totally understand that Biden isn’t the favorite candidate by a long shot, but I don’t know what messaging is needed to get people to vote him out. Biden is far from perfect but he can’t be compared to Trump. And the more time Trump gets in office, the lower the chance of someday fixing the system (which seems to be the argument from a lot of the “well Bernie didn’t win so fuck it, I’m not voting!!!” chucklefucks that I’ve seen).

If nothing else, get Trump out of there and give Biden four years to try and right the ship, and then by all means work toward a better candidate for 2024.

There was really good wording for this in one of the Majority 54 podcast episodes. I wanted to share it on SM when I heard it, but I’ve been trying to stay off of sm more. I’m going to look for it again though.

The question was basically, what do I say to people who think everything and everyone is terrible so why put in the effort to vote.