Trump talked a lot but said nothing during his town hall with Hannity
Jack Elbaum
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Last night, former President Donald Trump sat down for an hourlong town hall with Sean Hannity in front of a full audience. But while he certainly said a lot of words, they were almost completely devoid of substance. More importantly, Trump dedicated essentially no time at all to outlining what he would do in a second term and why he is a preferable candidate to his fellow Republicans in the primary.
Almost the entire first half of the interview was filled with discussions about the various investigations into, and indictments of, Trump. He argued it is evidence of a two-tier justice system and that the action (or lack thereof) with respect to the many Hillary Clinton, Hunter Biden, and Joe Biden scandals means he is being treated unfairly. That may or may not be true — the 38-count indictment of him sure seemed to present convincing evidence — but it is unclear what exactly it has to do with making a case for why he ought to be president again.
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It is a fair thing to mention, and he is not incorrect about a certain level of misconduct, but the fact this complaining took up most of the town hall suggests it is actually the centerpiece of his campaign. Grievance fueled by Trump’s perception of himself as a victim, even though, right now, he is simply facing the consequences of his own actions, is all he has to offer.
There is no vision or plan for the country, either. When asked about China and Ukraine, he gave laughable answers. He claimed that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war in a mere 24 hours and that he can leverage China into acting in more favorable ways by threatening to impose a 100% tariff — yes, you read that correctly — on its exports to the U.S. These are not the thoughts of a serious person. They are the on-the-fly musings of a con man.
That this is the case is made crystal clear by contrasting Trump with his competitors. Trump has been doing very few events and, when he has decided to do them, they are similar to this town hall: he is lobbed softball questions by an extremely friendly host. On the other hand, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), for example, sat down with CNN’s Jake Tapper yesterday for a tough interview and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is traveling around doing actual events while also implementing a well-devised strategy to convince voters of his campaign’s merits.
If we want to restore what has been lost in our country, we must elect a leader who actually understands the problems we face. Unfortunately, almost every time he speaks Trump proves that he only understands one thing: his own ego. After all, it is the central force of his unsubstantive and grievance-driven campaign. But it has no power to actually turn the country around.
The Republican field is filled with qualified, ambitious candidates. It is one of them that is worthy of the nomination to defeat President Joe Biden in 2024.
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Jack Elbaum is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.