CNN town hall in New Hampshire May 2023

## Here are some takeaways from Trump’s CNN town hall in New Hampshire

From CNN's Gregory Krieg and Eric Bradner 11. May 2023

*Here is some of what he said on key topics:*

* **Election lies:** Trump again refused to acknowledge that he lost the 2020 presidential electionseveral times, and instead reiterated false claims that the election was rigged. CNN’s Collins continuously pushed back and pointed to statements by Trump's own election officials noting the election was conducted fairly. He later only said he would accept the 2024 presidential election results if he believed they were “honest.”
* **January 6 insurrection:** Trump blamed then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi among others, saying they were at fault for the security failures on January 6, 2021. Trump falsely claimed that he called on the National Guard to intervene during the riot and in an extended exchange with Collins about the riot, Trump attempted to repaint his role during the insurrection. He also said he would pardon “a large portion” of rioters.
* **Mike Pence:** Trump said that he does not feel like he owes his former vice president an apology. Pence has said the former president endangered his life during the January 6 insurrection. "No, because he did something wrong. He should've put the votes back to the state legislatures and I think we would've had a different outcome," Trump said, though Pence did not have the authority to reject election results.
* **E. Jean Carroll:** Trump continued to deny knowing the columnist and denied accusations, just a day after a jury found that he was liable for sexually abusing her in a department store. The former president also ridiculed Carroll and said he does not believe the verdict disqualifies him from being president or will have an impact on women voters.
* **The economy:** If reelected, Trump said his solution to inflation would be drilling for more oil in the US. The former president then claimed that under his presidency, the country was energy independent and that the cost of gas went down to record lows. You can read a fact check on those claims here.
* **The debt ceiling:** Trump said the US should default on its debt if the White House does not agree to Republican spending cuts. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently warned that the US could default on its obligations as soon as June 1 if Congress doesn’t address the debt limit. The White House and GOP Republicans are in a standoff over how to resolve the issue.
* **Gun violence:** The former president pledged to protect the Second Amendment if he is back in the White House. He said he would address mental health problems as well as "do numerous things" to address mass shootings, including hiring more security guards for schools and what he called "hardening" entrances to establishments.
* **Abortion:** Trump would not say if he would sign a federal abortion ban if he was reelected or at how many weeks during pregnancy he would support a ban. Trump said he would “make a determination what he thinks is great for the country and what's fair for the country.” He argued those in the anti-abortion movement are “in a very good negotiating position right now" because of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
* **The war in Ukraine:** Trump said he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with Russian President Vladimir Putin and solve the war in Ukraine “in one day, 24 hours.” He would not say if he believed Putin was a war criminal and said the Russian leader "made a mistake” going into Ukraine, arguing he wouldn’t have done so if Trump was president. Trump wouldn’t say whether he wants Ukraine or Russia to win the war.
* **Classified documents:** The former president insisted that he had “every right” to take classified documents with him after he left the White House. He falsely claimed that the documents became declassified when he took them with him.