Closing summary
Well, that happened.
Over the course of about an hour, Donald Trump dodged questions, repeated falsehoods and lobbed insults at his enemies, all before a frequently clapping and cheering crowd of New Hampshire Republicans. CNN host Kaitlan Collins tried to get the former president to answer the questions she and audience members put to him, and what he did and did not say was indeed telling.
Here are the highlights, if you can call them that:
Trump would pardon “many” of those convicted for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection – a brutal attack which he repeatedly downplayed.
Despite a jury’s finding yesterday that Trump was civilly liable for sexual abuse and defamation, the former president denied knowing advice columnist E Jean Carroll, whose lawsuit led to the judgment.
Progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said CNN hosting the town hall was a mistake.
Collins pressed Trump on whether or not he would sign a national abortion ban, but he would not say either way.
The former president remained cagey about supporting Ukraine against Russia, instead insisting he could stop their war in “24 hours”. A former ally said what Trump really means is that he would let Moscow win.
Updated
You can expect to hear about this town hall for days.
Critics will seize on Donald Trump’s statements, CNN’s decision to hold the event and host Kaitlan Collins’s attempts to nail down the former president’s positions on various issues.
Already, Politico reports that the former president’s advisers see his appearance as a success:
A Trump adviser called tonight's CNN town hall a "home run" and "presidential." The printout of tweets about Jan. 6 was Trump's idea.
— Meridith McGraw (@meridithmcgraw) May 11, 2023
Another said it was "fantastic" and an opportunity for CNN viewers to hear him talk about policy. They are happy with Trump's performance.
But the Democratic National Committee (DNC) says the town hall served as a reminder of what kind of politician Trump is.
“The American people were just reintroduced, in primetime, to a dangerous, extreme candidate who seeks to undermine democracy and is the frontrunner for the nomination of a party that is increasingly beholden to its most right-wing fringes,” the DNC said in a statement.
And Chris Christie, the former Republican governor of New Jersey who is today among the ex-president’s foes, said Trump’s wavering on whether he would support Ukraine was telling:
Donald Trump says he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours tonight on CNN. Despite how ridiculous that is to say, I suspect he would try to do it by turning Ukraine over to Putin and Russia. #Putin’sPuppet
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) May 11, 2023
Updated
Fact check: Trump asked Georgia election officials to "find" more votes
Questioned about the ongoing criminal investigation into election interference in Georgia, Donald Trump misrepresented a phone call with the state’s top election official, falsely claiming, “I didn’t ask him to find anything.”
A recording of the phone call to Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, revealed that Trump had said, “I just want to find 11,780 votes.” The former president said in the town hall that he called to “question” the election. But the recording suggested that he clearly pressured the official to overturn the election results in his favor.
COLLINS: You asked him to find you votes
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 11, 2023
TRUMP: I didn't ask him to find anything
COLLINS: We've heard the audio pic.twitter.com/KvKQxMUBYb
'Do you want four more years of that?' asks Biden
Joe Biden wasted no time in responding to Donald Trump’s statements at the just-concluded CNN town hall:
It’s simple, folks.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 11, 2023
Do you want four more years of that?
If you don’t, pitch in to our campaign.https://t.co/EwCflbYn22
After an hour and change, Donald Trump’s town hall with CNN has wrapped up.
The former president was slippery as always, often refusing to outline his positions in response to questions put to him by host Kaitlan Collins. She closed by asking him if he would commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election.
“Yes, if I think it’s an honest election, absolutely,” he said – a statement that left plenty of room for him to not accept the result.
Fact check: do family separations deter migrants?
Donald Trump, who as president faced widespread outrage for separating families at the US southern border, defended the policy, saying it has a deterrent effect: “People don’t come.”
There is not clear evidence suggesting that harsh policies such as family separation deter asylum seekers from coming to the US. A 2017 pilot program of family separation was followed by an increase of families entering the US at the border. A 2018 analysis found that the policy was not having the intended effect.
Immigrant rights groups note that policies like detaining children or separating them from their families do not discourage people from coming and can instead lead to more dangerous journeys.
Updated
Trump demurs on supporting Ukraine
Host Kaitlan Collins repeatedly asked Donald Trump to clarify his position on supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, but the former president instead danced around the questions and refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion.
“I don’t think in terms of winning and losing, I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people,” Trump said.
Asked whether he wants Russia or Ukraine to win, Trump replied, “I want everybody to stop dying,” before implying he could end the war as soon as he returned to the White House.
“Twenty-four hours, I’ll have it done,” Trump said.
Updated
Fact check: no, it is not legal to kill babies after they are born
Donald Trump falsely claimed that pro-choice Democrats want to “kill the baby” after they are born, an assertion that went unchecked in the CNN town hall.
The former president also suggested abortion rights groups want doctors to be able to “execute” babies. This false and inflammatory claim was a common refrain of the former president during the last election and has no basis in fact.
Updated
Donald Trump has spent much of the town hall so far repeating false claims about the 2020 election and further attacking E Jean Carroll, who a jury determined yesterday he is liable for sexually abusing.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an influential progressive Democrat in the House of Representatives, says CNN should never allowed the event to happen:
CNN should be ashamed of themselves.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 11, 2023
They have lost total control of this “town hall” to again be manipulated into platforming election disinformation, defenses of Jan 6th, and a public attack on a sexual abuse victim.
The audience is cheering him on and laughing at the host.
We’ve just hit the first commercial break of this two-hour long town hall, but before that, host Kaitlan Collins tried repeatedly to get Donald Trump to say whether he would sign a nationwide abortion ban.
The former president danced around the question again and again, saying only that abortion was a “very complex issue” and that he was “looking at a solution” for it. He also brought up various other accomplishments of his administration, such as the three conservative supreme court justices he appointed.
All three signed on to last June’s opinion overturning Roe v Wade and allowing states to ban abortion.
Fact check: Trump did have chance to testify in Carroll case
Trump misleadingly suggested that the judge in the sexual abuse and defamation trial brought by writer E Jean Carroll had prevented him from producing evidence, saying, “He allowed us to put nothing in.”
Trump has repeatedly made false claims that he was “not allowed to speak or defend” himself. But Trump did not call any witnesses, nor did he make an appearance during the two week-trial, except when excerpts of a video deposition from last year were played in the courtroom.
The judge, Lewis A Kaplan, whom the former president has repeatedly attacked, told Trump’s legal team that he could file a request to testify, but he chose not to. The jury found that the former president sexually abused Carroll, meaning subjecting her to sexual contact with the use of force and without her consent, and ordered him to pay $5m in damages.
Updated
Trump denies sexual abuse finding
Donald Trump just addressed yesterday’s verdict in advice columnist E Jean Carroll’s civil lawsuit against him, in which a federal jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
“This woman, I don’t know her. I never met her. I have no idea who she is,” Trump said of Carroll, saying he had a picture taken with Carroll and her husband “years ago”.
Fact check: no evidence countries sending migrants to US from 'mental institutions'
Trump claimed without evidence that other countries are sending migrants from “mental institutions” into the US.
The former president has repeatedly made this claim, but there is no evidence to support it. Trump’s campaign has been unable to produce evidence of this, CNN recently reported. Anti-immigration groups have also said they are unaware of what Trump may be referencing with these remarks. CNN did a “broad search” for any evidence of this story and came up empty.
Trump also said the US was suffering from “open borders” in his initial remarks on immigration. On the contrary, Joe Biden has maintained many of the policies of the Trump administration, angering immigrant rights’ groups. The Biden administration also recently announced it was sending 1,500 active-duty troops to the US-Mexico border.
Updated
Trump would pardon 'many' January 6 rioters
Donald Trump says he would pardon “many” of those convicted for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection.
“I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, they got out of control,” the former president said in response to question from a Republican voter in the audience.
“You have two standards of justice of this country,” Trump continued. “My answer is I am most likely, if I get in, I will, most likely. I would say it will be a large portion of them.”
Updated
Fact check: 2020 election fraud claims remain baseless
There’s no evidence of widespread fraud, and election officials across the US, including Republican leaders, have repeatedly reaffirmed this over the last two years.
The Trump campaign’s own efforts to show that thousands of ballots cast under the names of deceased people in Georgia came up empty, with findings that contradicted the former president’s claims, a recent report revealed. There is no evidence in any state of fraud or irregularities that affected any election outcomes.
Updated
Donald Trump wasted no time in repeating his debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
In response to a question from host Kaitlan Collins about why he should be returned to the White House considering the January 6 insurrection and his refusal to acknowledge his defeat three years ago, Trump quickly veered into his oft-repeated conspiracy theories about his loss to Joe Biden.
“I think that when you look at that result, and when you look at what happened during that election, unless you’re a very stupid person, you see what happens a lot of people in this audience and maybe a couple of people understand what happened was a rigged election,” the former president said.
Collins pressed him to acknowledge his 2020 election loss. Trump demurred, instead shifting to complaining about border security.
Donald Trump has just walked onstage in New Hampshire, where he was greeted with applause and cheers from the crowd, some of whom stood up to clap.
All of which makes sense: Trump remains popular among the GOP, and many in the audience are supporters of the party.
CNN town hall with Donald Trump begins
CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump has kicked off in New Hampshire, with the former president and current frontrunner for the Republican nomination facing questions from GOP and undeclared voters over the next two hours. Expect them to ask about everything from his stances on abortion and US assistance to Ukraine to his myriad legal troubles – particularly the sexual abuse verdict that came yesterday.
We’re going to be covering the town hall as it happens on this blog, and be joined by the Guardian’s Sam Levin in Los Angeles, who will be focused on fact-checking Trump’s statements.
Updated
In a post on his Truth Social network a few hours ago, Donald Trump, sounding very much like his usual self, had this to say about the CNN town hall:
Heading to the Great State of New Hampshire. CNN LIVE, Tonight, 8:00 P.M. Is CNN making a comeback, or is it just a charade? They must treat MAGA, the greatest political movement in our Country’s history, with respect. I think they will, but we will soon find out? Big long term opportunity for CNN!!!
Updated
CNN town hall first chance for Trump to address sexual abuse finding
The CNN town hall will be Donald Trump’s first television appearance since being found liable for sexual abuse and defamation by a federal jury in New York City on Tuesday. Don’t expect contrition; among other things, the former president called the verdicts a “disgrace” minutes after they were handed down. As the Guardian’s Joan E Greve reports, the curious among the audience of Republican and undeclared voters may still decide to ask him about it:
Donald Trump could face questions about being found to have sexually abused E Jean Carroll when he participates in a CNN town hall on Wednesday night.
The town hall comes just one day after a jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation, underscoring the former president’s mounting legal threats amid his effort to recapture the White House next year.
The CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins will moderate the town hall at 8pm ET at St Anselm College in New Hampshire, where Trump will take questions from Republican and undeclared voters in the early voting state.
Town hall attendees will probably press Trump on how he intends to run for president as he faces legal threats in multiple states. On Tuesday, a New York jury concluded that Trump had sexually abused the advice columnist E Jean Carroll 27 years earlier, ordering the former president to pay her $5m in damages for her battery and defamation claims.
Trump to face CNN town hall after sexual abuse verdict
Good evening, US politics blog readers, and thanks for joining us as we cover CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump, the former president who polls indicate is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. Moderated by host Kaitlan Collins, the event starts at 8pm ET in New Hampshire and will see Trump take questions from an audience of Republican and undeclared voters.
Here are a few ideas of what they might ask:
What’s his reaction to the finding by a federal jury on Tuesday that he was civilly liable for sexually abusing and defaming advice columnist E Jean Carroll? The verdict in the lawsuit was one of the biggest legal losses Trump has suffered recently, and in that regard, he doesn’t appear to be out of the woods yet …
What will happen if he’s indicted by a grand jury for tampering with the 2020 election, hiding classified documents or instigating the January 6 insurrection? Justice department-appointed special counsel Jack Smith is looking into all of the above, while Atlanta-area district attorney Fani Willis is investigating his attempts to overturn Joe Biden’s win in Georgia three years ago.
Would he back a national abortion ban? Abortion opponents are a major voting bloc for Republicans, but Trump has demurred as to whether he would support banning the practice nationwide.
Follow along here for coverage of the town hall as it happens.
Updated
