Former President Trump appeared at what was billed as a town hall event moderated by Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday, where he slammed Vice President Harris during an otherwise friendly interview in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Trump had initially proposed a Fox News-hosted debate with Harris that same day, but then participated in a pre-recorded town hall meeting earlier in the evening. Harris' campaign declined to offer any additional debates beyond the one hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10. Wednesday night's show was scheduled to feature only Trump and Hannity's conversation, with viewer questions scheduled to air Thursday night.
Here are five takeaways from Trump and Hannity's conversation:
Focus on hydraulic fracturing
Trump has repeatedly criticized Harris on the issue of fracking, which is likely to be a focus of the upcoming campaign in Pennsylvania.
The former president and Hannity highlighted Harris' pledge to ban fracking if she won the 2019 presidential primary. Harris has since said she would not ban fracking if she wins the presidential election in November.
“Pennsylvania cannot take the chance that that answer is true,” President Trump said of Governor Harris' 2019 comments.
“You have no choice: Vote for me,” he added. “Fracking is necessary.”
Fracking has brought economic growth to parts of Pennsylvania, and a ban on it could cost residents jobs and complicate energy production.
Harris has defended some of the positions she took during the 2019 campaign, and the vice president and his campaign have sought to distance her from past comments on fracking, immigration and Medicare for All.
Trump slams ABC ahead of debate
Wednesday's event came less than a week before Trump is scheduled to face off against Harris in a debate in Philadelphia.
The former president criticized Harris' intelligence, but he mainly used the opportunity to ridicule ABC News, which is hosting the event next Tuesday.
“ABC is the worst network when it comes to fairness,” Trump said.
The former president has repeatedly questioned ABC's impartiality and speculated about how he might be treated ahead of his September 10 debate with Harris, which is currently the only scheduled debate between the two candidates.
“They're the most dishonest network. The meanest, the most nasty, but that's what they gave me. I was given ABC,” Trump added. “I think a lot of people will tune in to see how mean they are, how unfair they are. I agreed to do it because they wouldn't do it with any other network.”
Trump agreed to two debates with President Biden earlier this year: one to be hosted by CNN in June and another by ABC News in September. When Harris took Biden's place at the top of the list, Trump declined to appear on ABC, but the two ultimately agreed to appear in the Sept. 10 debate.
Trump returns to Pennsylvania stronghold
Wednesday marked Trump's second visit to Pennsylvania in the past week, following a rally in Johnstown last Friday.
Without a win in Pennsylvania, either candidate's path to winning the 270 electoral votes will be much tougher, making the state potentially decisive in the outcome of November's election.
Both the Trump and Harris campaigns have poured significant time and resources into Pennsylvania, and Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), has made multiple visits to the state.
Harris will visit Pittsburgh with Biden on Monday to mark Labor Day, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), is scheduled to campaign in the state for two days this week.
Polls show a very close race between Trump and Harris in Pennsylvania, with Harris leading by less than one percentage point in the Decision Desk HQ/The Hill average of polls.
Also attending Wednesday's town hall was David McCormick, the Republican Senate candidate facing Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) in November.
Trump basks in friendly crowd
The audience at Wednesday's town hall could have been mistaken for an audience at a Trump rally.
The former president entered the arena to thunderous applause and chants of “USA” and “Trump.”
“This is a great crowd,” a smiling Trump said as he took his seat at the start of the event.
The audience applauded nearly everything Trump said and chanted condemnations when he mentioned Harris or the Biden administration's policies.
“This is a very tough interview,” Hannity joked at one point.
The raucous atmosphere reflected the audience Trump may have expected when he first proposed hosting a packed studio debate with Harris — an audience he thrives on, and one his Democratic opponents have tried to sap by insisting on holding the general election debates without a crowd.
Trump's obsession with “weirdness”
Democrats have taken great delight in provoking and infuriating President Trump, but especially in criticizing him and the Republican Party as “weird.”
The attack started with Walz but quickly caught on among Democrats, and was used against Vance in particular.
Trump has taken time to push back against the term at multiple events, including a town hall meeting with Hannity on Wednesday.
“JD's not a weirdo. He's a solid rock. I'm a very solid rock. We're not weirdos. We may be something else, but we're not weirdos,” Trump said.
“But he's a weird guy,” he said of Waltz. “When he gets onstage, something's weird. And he calls me a weirdo, and the fake news media picks it up. That's the buzzword of the day.”
