It’s no secret that former President Donald Trump’s once-rosy relationship with Fox News has soured since his 2020 election loss. On Wednesday, during a town hall event nearly two years since his last live event with the network, Trump professed to hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum how proud he was of facilitating the demise of reproductive rights in America.
As previously reported by Rolling Stone, Trump has privately speculated that he could run as a “moderate” on abortion, an idea that becomes laughable in the face of his record on the issue as president. The former president has also publicly voiced concerns that the GOP is shooting itself in the electoral foot by backing hardline, extremely restrictive anti-abortion policies. He didn’t seem worried on Wednesday, though, when he was asked by an undecided voter for reassurance that he would maintain his commitment to the pro-life cause if elected.
“That is a great question, appreciate it, too,” Trump responded, adding that she “wouldn’t be asking that question, [or] even talking about the issue — for 54 years they were trying to get Roe V. Wade terminated, and I did it. and I’m proud to have done it.”
Trump did not directly overturn Roe. He did however appoint three conservative Supreme Court justices who ruled to strip Americans of the right to abortion access in their 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision. The ruling triggered a chain of state-level abortion bans, increased restrictions in other states, and a widespread effort by Republican lawmakers to criminalize individuals and doctors seeking or providing comprehensive access to reproductive health.
“Nobody has done more on that record than me,” he added. “I happen to be for the exceptions — like Ronald Reagan — with the life of the mother, rape, incest, I just have to be there.” Trump went on ramble at length about how conservatives “have to win elections,” and referenced “great Republicans” who have “been decimated” by voter backlash to their stances on abortion.
“You have to go with your heart … go with your heart, your mind, go with it … [But] you have to win elections,” he added.
On the subject of winning elections, Trump continues to hold a commanding lead going into the first primary battle of 2024. His competition is laboring down to the wire to pull off an upset victory in Iowa, with leading rivals Nikki Haley and current Florida Governor Ron DeSantis debating on CNN as Trump fielded questions on Fox.
Trump’s trials, legal debacles, and continued — unproven — claims that fraud cost his reelection bid loomed heavily over his town hall. In April of last year, the network agreed to pay out $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, after Fox repeatedly aired false claims about the voting-machine company rigging 2020 against him.
The former president shied away from making any explicit claims of electoral rigging during the event, but he did address several of the controversies swirling around his candidacy. When asked about a recent report from House Oversight Democrats that identified $7.8 million in payments from foreign governments to his hotels and properties, Trump claimed presidents “are allowed” to run their personal businesses while in office.
“You know George Washington was a very rich man, people don’t know that. In his essentially White House — it wasn’t built yet — they had an office. He had a business desk, and he had a country desk right next to each other. You are allowed to do that, I didn’t do it. I put everything in trust,” Trump said.
“If I have a hotel and somebody comes in from China, that is a small amount of money. It sounds like a lot of money, that’s a small [amount.] But I was doing services for that. People were staying in these massive hotels, these beautiful hotels, because I have the best hotels. I have the best clubs. I have great stuff. And they stayed there and they pay.”
“I don’t get $8 million for doing nothing,” he added.
In one of the most pointed questions of the town hall, Trump was asked by Baier how much of a second Trump term would be about “retribution.” The former president, who as reported by Rolling Stone has spent plenty of time fantasizing about ways to exact revenge on his political enemies, claimed that he would not “have time for retribution” if elected in November.
One should recall that in 2016 Trump also claimed that he would be too busy running the country to play golf. Trump’s 150 confirmed golf outings and more than 200 trips to various golf clubs during his four years in office were ultimately estimated to have cost taxpayers more than $144 million.
