President Donald Trump will participate in a town hall broadcasted by NBC outdoors at the Pérez Art Museum Miami in Miami, Florida, on Thursday evening. The event will be moderated by NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie.
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for live updates. All times Eastern.
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9:18 PM: Trump’s re-election campaign issues the following statement on the town hall:
🚨Statement from @TeamTrump on tonight's town halls:
“Even though the commission canceled the in-person debate that could have happened tonight, one occurred anyway, and President Trump soundly defeated NBC’s Savannah Guthrie." pic.twitter.com/7GME3jFHeN
— Andrew Clark 🎃 (@AndrewHClark) October 16, 2020
9:18 PM: Trump chats with audience members after the town hall event.
Pres chats with participants after Town Hall event in Miami. pic.twitter.com/QIFrFIl9at
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) October 16, 2020
8:59 PM: The female audience member nodding in agreement to Trump’s statements slamming Antifa has gone viral.
Whoever this woman is nodding her head – we stand with her! pic.twitter.com/By1TJf0uy8
— Students For Trump (@TrumpStudents) October 16, 2020
The nodding woman. pic.twitter.com/63BJQVh2yH
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) October 16, 2020
NBC News and Savannah Guthrie might think that ANTIFA is just a group of peaceful protestors.
But this lady behind President Trump and the rest of America understands that ANTIFA is a dangerous, violent, extremists organization. pic.twitter.com/ThqHkTmPin
— Francis Brennan (@FrancisBrennan) October 16, 2020
Trump is SO back! I thought he did great tonight. Turned over to Sleepy Joe and he was working hard earning his name. Can't see how anyone who watched any of both would even consider voting for Biden. BTW, the nodding black woman behind Trump will be famous by morning. #nodder
— Phil Valentine (@ValentineShow) October 16, 2020
The nodding woman behind the President tonight is the factor that the folks in the media and socials can never plan for.
The X factor.
— Justin Barclay (@MrJustinBarclay) October 16, 2020
Anyone else notice the constant nodding from the woman behind @POTUS right shoulder? I wanted to hear from her! #TrumpTownHall
— Amaka Ubaka (@AmakaUbakaTV) October 16, 2020
I'm writing in Nodding Woman Behind Trump.
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) October 16, 2020
8:57 PM: Questioner compliments Trump, telling him he’s “handsome” when he smiles.
Voter to President Trump at #TrumpTownHall: “You’re so handsome when you smile." pic.twitter.com/sb9p0jWv4b
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) October 16, 2020
She then asks the president:
Q: “Do you expect to pursue your previous efforts to cut the DACA program?”
A: “We’re going to take care of DACA we’re going to take care of Dreamers.”
8:56 PM: When asked about racial profiling, Trump touts Sen. Tim Scott’s police reform bill, which the Democrats opposed. He then lists off his accomplishments helping the black community. “I have done more for the African American community than any president other than Abraham Lincoln,” he says.
President @realDonaldTrump: I have done more for the African American community than any other president, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln#TrumpTownHall pic.twitter.com/WV4TyrZcqv
— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) October 16, 2020
8:50 PM: Trump says he has no expectations regarding how Judge Amy Coney Barrett would rule on the Supreme Court, nor did he discuss specific cases with her. He says the two talked about family. “I think that depending on what happens to Roe v. Wade, it could get sent down to the states or maybe nothing at all will happen,” the president replies when asked how he thinks Barrett could rule on abortion cases.
8:39 PM: Trump accuses the New York Times of illegally obtaining his tax records when asked who the Trump Organization owes over $400 million to. He says the figure is a fraction of his net worth, adding he doesn’t owe money to Russia. “I’m extremely under levered,” he says. Guthrie tells Trump he could end questions surrounding his taxes if he releases them tonight. The president responds by reminding the moderator that he’s under the IRS, who he says are treating him poorly. “No person in their right mind would release prior to working out the deal with the IRS,” he says. “It’s common sense, and intelligence”
8:37 PM: Trump warns Biden will raise corporate tax rates, which will spark a depression “the likes of which you never had.”
President @realDonaldTrump on corporate tax rates: Companies are pouring into the country because of the tax rate, and if Biden raises it we will end up with a depression "the likes of which you never had"#TrumpTownHall pic.twitter.com/ENp7Q7jT90
— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) October 16, 2020
8:36 PM: Trump hits House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for refusing to negotiate a stimulus agreement, accusing her of attempting to harm his re-election prospects. “She doesn’t want to give the money… she’s penalizing our people,” the president says, before calling for both Republicans and Democrats to reach a “big” and “bold” deal. The president adds: “If we agree to something, the Republicans will agree to it.”
8:33 PM: Trump says he has largely dismantled Obamacare and affirms he wants to replace it with a system that will protect pre-existing conditions.
8:24 PM: Trump says contracting coronavirus did not change his views on masks, reaffirming that he never had an issue with people wearing them. The president then recounts how a staffer was playing with his mask as he served him a meal at the White House, raising questions about the effectiveness about donning face coverings.
8:18 PM: Asked about his remarks to author Bob Woodward and whether he downplayed the virus, Trump replies: “I knew it was a big threat but I didn’t want to panic the country,”
8:16 PM: Trump says he will accept a peaceful transfer of power, but calls for an “honest” election. He then warns of voter fraud linked to voting by mail. He also references discarded military ballots found with his name in Pennsylvania as possible evidence of fraud. “It’s sort of ironic that you and them talk about the peaceful transfer when I spent three and a half years fighting off these maniacs and now it turns out, everything’s there, that they were the ones that dealt with Russia,” the president tells Guthrie.
President Trump: " It's sort of ironic that you and them talk about the peaceful transfer when I spent 3 1/2 years fighting off these maniacs and now it turns out, everything's there, that they were the ones that dealt with Russia." pic.twitter.com/EktoawEich
— ForAmerica (@ForAmerica) October 16, 2020
8:14 PM: Trump once again empathically denounces white supremacy, then goes on to slam Antifa and violence taking place in Democrat-cities. When asked about QAnon, the president replies: “What I do hear about it is that they are strong against pedophilia. And I do agree with that.” Trump turns the tables on Guthrie and grills her about why she does not ask about condemning Antifa.
For the 800th time, President @realDonaldTrump denounces white supremacy and racism.pic.twitter.com/ilJ4PYOfhk
— Students For Trump (@TrumpStudents) October 16, 2020
.@realDonaldTrump: "Why aren't you asking me about Antifa?
Why aren't you asking me about the radical left?"
"Antifa exists. They're vicious. They're violent. They kill people. And they're burning down our cities." pic.twitter.com/OJxxz52zMl
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) October 16, 2020
8:10 PM: Trump says “I believe we’re rounding the corner” when discussing the U.S.’s fight against the coronavirus.
8:07 PM: Trump says “as the president, I have to be out there” when asked why participants of the Rose Garden event for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. He also reaffirms he has no issue with masks.
8:06 PM: Trump says “possibly I did. possibly I didn’t.” take daily coronavirus tests ahead of the first debate against Democrat opponent Joe Biden.
8:03 PM: Trump says he has no remaining symptoms of coronavirus, adds that scans of his lungs showed there were “a little bit different” and perhaps “infected.”
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