Donald Trump Town Hall: Five Talking Points
Former President Donald Trump held a town hall event with Fox News host Sean Hannity during his visit to the U.S-Mexico border in Texas on Wednesday.
Trump denounced President Joe Biden's policies on migration during the trip and delivered remarks in front of an unfinished section of the border wall. He offered further criticisms during his conversation with Hannity—and took aim at other Republicans.
Here are five of the main talking points Trump discussed with Hannity on Wednesday night.
1. Trump has made up his mind about 2024
Trump has repeatedly hinted that he will run for the White House again in 2024. On Wednesday, he appeared to confirm that he had made his decision about a third presidential campaign.
"I have to ask, where are you in the process of," Hannity began, going on to say: "Without giving the answer, what the answer is, have you made up your mind?"
"Yes," Trump replied.
"It's not that I want to," the former president said later. "The country needs it. We have to take care of this country. It isn't fun, fighting constantly, fighting always."
2. Trump takes aim at Mitch McConnell
The former president suggested on Wednesday that the time had come for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to step aside.
"You need better leadership at the Senate level," Trump said. "You need someone better than Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell can no longer do the job."
Trump also criticized the Kentucky senator in a statement on Monday, saying he "did nothing" to help overturn the results of the 2020 election. However, McConnell remains one of the most powerful people in the Republican Party.
3. Trump touts his policies on the border
It was no surprise when the discussion turned to the Biden administration's handling of border crossings. Trump touted his own administration's approach, contrasting it with current policies.
"There's never been a better time six months ago and never a worse time [than today]," Trump said. "We had the tightest security and you could come to our country legally. You know what else we were stopping massive amounts of drugs, human traffickers—bad, bad people criminals emptying their jails into our country."
4. Trump compares the bipartisan infrastructure deal to appeasement of Nazi Germany
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework agreed by the White House and a group of Senate Republicans has been fiercely criticized by some in the GOP and Trump joined the chorus on Wednesday.
Trump slammed "RINOS"—Republicans in name only—and appeared to compare the deal to the British policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
"They walk into the White House [...] and they meet Biden: He doesn't know what the hell is happening," Trump said. "He is sitting and talking about infrastructure—And then finally, they walk out and they have a deal. The deal is a terrible deal, but it is a deal. It sort of reminds me of England a long time ago."
"'We have a deal, we have a deal'—you remember the deal they made with Germany? Not too good," Trump went on. "That didn't work too well."
5. A cognitive test for Joe Biden?
At one point in the town hall, Hannity called on Rep. Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician who has led calls for President Biden to take a cognitive test. The Fox News host asked Jackson if he would perform such a test on the president.
Trump once again said he had "aced" a cognitive test, scoring 30 out of 30. He was reportedly administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) in 2018, the same test 14 Republican lawmakers want Biden to take.
The former president suggested that his successor would struggle to answer some of the questions. MOCA is designed to assess whether a person has cognitive impairments that may indicate the early signs of dementia.
"He would not get those last 15 right, certainly not the last 10, I can tell you," Trump said.
Newsweek has asked the White House, Senator Mitch McConnell and former President Trump's office for comment.
