Tag: town hall
Walker and Hannity

Hannity Hosts Fake 'Town Hall' For Walker After He Skips Debate

Fox News host Sean Hannity turned his prime-time show into a full-on campaign rally Monday night for Republican U.S. Senate nominee Herschel Walker, after the former football star had skipped an official debate Sunday night. Walker’s appearance with Hannity was hastily announced Sunday evening, as incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) prepared to face Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver (and an empty lectern in place of Walker) on the debate stage in Atlanta.

The episode of Hannity was officially billed as a “town hall,” a label that the host used multiple times during the hour. But attendees in the audience never actually asked any questions of the candidate, instead simply delivering applause at various moments and engaging in call-and-response routines with Hannity or other speakers.

To be clear, this was simply a campaign rally for Walker, organized and promoted by Hannity and Fox News, and featuring special guests such as Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott from neighboring South Carolina. (Hannity closed out the program by promoting another supposed “town hall” episode of his show scheduled for Wednesday, featuring Pennsylvania GOP Senate nominee Mehmet Oz — another candidate whose campaign Hannity was instrumental in boosting — as well as Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, a favorite of far-right media.)

Walker’s appearance with Hannity followed his participation in another debate that took place Friday, which is likely to be the only televised face-off between the two major-party candidates in the Peach State. During that debate, when Warnock made comments about Walker’s documented history of violence, including when he had threatened a “shoot-out with police,” Walker responded by producing an honorary “prop” police badge from his jacket pocket as alleged proof of his close relationship with Georgia law enforcement.

Walker appeared on Hannity on Monday after he didn’t attend Sunday’s debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club. Hannity opened the pseudo-“town hall” with Walker by declaring that Sunday’s debate was an attempted “ambush,” citing an article in the right-wing Washington Free Beacon that attacked some of the organization’s members who had donated to Democratic candidates in 2020. (The debate moderator was radio host Scott Slade, who has been a fixture of Georgia political news for more than 50 years.)

Dismissing other media coverage, Hannity further declared that “in Friday night's debate, Herschel Walker proved them all wrong and he won that debate,” followed by a clips reel of Walker speaking on stage. (Walker has actually been widely lampooned for his stunt involving the prop badge, a moment that Hannity’s team did not include in the clips reel.)

Of course, Hannity’s protests of alleged press bias for Democrats really ought to ring alarm bells for anyone who has observed both Hannity and Fox News in general.

Hannity is a longtime political operative who practically recruited Walker into the Georgia Senate race, and he has repeatedly used his show to promote other Republican candidates in the midterm elections. In addition, the rest of Fox News also helped pick the Republican Senate candidates while burying negative stories about Walker in its running coverage.

The pseudo-“town hall” was also marked by Hannity feeding Walker talking points for their discussion. Following Hannity’s lengthy opening monologue, the host finally brought the candidate onto the show around 10 minutes into the program, then proceeded to recount a conversation the two supposedly had about Walker’s dedication to public service. (Walker didn’t remember it.)

SEAN HANNITY (HOST): So, I told you before you ran, I said, this is going to get ugly, they’re going to attack you, they’re going to smear you, they’re going to slander you. And do you remember what you said to me?

HERSCHEL WALKER: No.

HANNITY: You said to me, “Sean, I have fought my whole life, and they can do whatever they want. But I’m going to go and be the — I'm going to go be a public servant for the people of Georgia.”

The campaign rally atmosphere continued midway through the program, when Graham and Scott joined the stage, urging viewers to help elect a Republican Senate majority.

“If we want to help Georgians and all of America, let's start winning the majority right here in Georgia,” said Scott.

Graham also repeatedly asked viewers to go to Walker’s campaign site and donate money. “TeamHerschel.com, folks,” he said. “Help this man.” (Graham’s plea for contributions from Fox’s audience is nothing new; he was notorious for begging for donations to his own campaign during appearances on Fox in 2020.)

During this entire programming block that lasted nearly 15 minutes, Walker began speaking for himself only at around the six-and-a-half minute mark, after lengthy partisan jeremiads from the other men.

Hannity later revved up Walker, and the crowd, by asking a series of simple, loaded questions toward the end of the block, essentially directing the candidate to accept the policy agenda being handed to him live on-air.

SEAN HANNITY (HOST): If you're elected, you're promising the people of Georgia — I want to make sure I'm right — lower taxes, controlled borders, re-fund the police, get rid of this —

HERSCHEL WALKER: Energy independence.

HANNITY: — idiotic no-bail laws.

WALKER: Yes.

HANNITY: You will support energy independence.

WALKER: Yes.

HANNITY: And you will support reading, writing, math, history, science —

WALKER: Yes.

HANNITY: And get rid of the woke agenda.

WALKER: Yes. And our military — I want to continue to say I will support —

GRAHAM: Amen.

WALKER: — our military because our military is our strength.

SCOTT: Amen.

WALKER: And we have to continue to support our military.

An analysis by Media Matters found that Walker himself only spoke for roughly 8 minutes — in what was supposedly a “town hall” with the candidate. Hannity, by contrast, had 19 minutes of speaking time. Another way of looking at this is that Walker’s speaking time was still less than the combined total for the other two major guests, Graham and Scott, who collectively spoke for 9 minutes. (All times were rounded to the nearest minute.)

By comparison, in the hourlong debate that Walker skipped Sunday night, a count by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that Warnock and Oliver dominated the speaking time, distantly followed by the moderators.

Hannity’s TV episode with Walker, by contrast, perfectly illustrates a propaganda display that featured a candidate for public office only as a supporting character on the show.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

In 24 Years of Town Hall Debates, The Winners, The Losers, And The Weird

In 24 Years of Town Hall Debates, The Winners, The Losers, And The Weird

In the 24 years since the debut of the town-hall format in an American presidential debate, there have been winners, losers and some memorably weird moments.

Sunday’s debate at Washington University in St. Louis, to be moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, is the second of three presidential debates in this election cycle and the only town hall debate — which features the candidates in a more informal setting fielding questions from undecided voters.

The debate pits two candidates headed in opposite directions. Republican nominee Donald Trump had a rough first debate on Sept. 26 and a series of controversies and gaffes since then has diminished his odds of winning the election: on the FiveThirtyEight.com election website, his estimated chances have fallen from 45.2 percent to 18.6 percent. After Friday’s release of a tape that captured Trump’s lewd remarks about women in 2005, the 70 year-old businessman will need a stellar debate to stop the political bleeding. Hillary Clinton will need a steady debate performance to maintain her lead.

What follows is a glance at the winners, losers, and weird moments at previous presidential election town hall debates:

2012 Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, moderated by CNN’s Candy Crowley

In the first debate, President Barack Obama seemed tired and withdrawn, which let challenger Mitt Romney come away in polls as the winner. Obama, however, stepped up his game in this second encounter. And Romney’s comment about having “binders full of women” when asked about finding qualified women to serve in his administration, if elected, was the line everybody remembered weeks later.

2008 Belmont University, Nashville, TN, moderated by NBC’s Tom Brokaw

Democratic nominee Obama came into this second debate after a strong showing in the first debate and maintained his momentum with another solid outing. Republican John McCain created a stir when he referred to Obama as “that one” at one point and also created a buzz with what appeared to be absent-minded wandering around the stage while Obama spoke.

2004 St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO, moderated by ABC’s Charles Gibson

President George W. Bush had been criticized for too much scowling in the first debate, and softened his appearance in this second debate. Bush and Democrat John Kerry came into the event even in the polls and exited the same way. This debate featured some contentious back-and-forth over the “weapons of mass destruction” not found in Iraq.

2000 St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO, moderated by PBS’s Jim Lehrer

This debate was nearly postponed after the death of Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan and his son Randy the day before in a plane crash. Democrat Al Gore had endured withering criticism after the first debate for sighing too much when Republican Bush spoke. In this debate, seen as a draw by many, Gore created a stir by walking into Bush’s personal space while he was answering a question.

1996 University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, moderated by PBS’s Jim Lehrer

Republican Bob Dole needed a boost after a rough outing in the first debate, but couldn’t gain any traction on incumbent Bill Clinton’s double digit lead in the polls. Voters remembered Clinton’s line that “defended” Dole as not too old to run for president at age 73, while criticizing his ideas as outdated. There were only two debates in 1996 instead of the normal three.

1992 University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, moderated by ABC’s Carole Simpson

Would you believe the first presidential debate this year wasn’t won by a Democrat or Republican but by an Independent candidate —  as Ross Perot shone against incumbent George H.W. Bush and challenger Bill Clinton in the new town hall format. Bush suffered the very first “gotcha” moment when cameras caught him looking at his watch while a voter was asking a question. He failed to make a move in this debate to shake things up.

IMAGE: In this Oct. 16, 2012, file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks while President Barack Obama listens during the second presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Trump Flops On Immigration (Again), After Inviting Brexiter Nigel Farage On Stage

Trump Flops On Immigration (Again), After Inviting Brexiter Nigel Farage On Stage

JACKSON, Miss. (Reuters) – Nigel Farage, a key figure in the successful campaign to get Britain out of the European Union, lent his support to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying Trump represented the same type of anti-establishment movement that he masterminded in his own country.

Farage appeared with Trump before a cheering crowd of thousands at a rally in Jackson, Mississippi. Farage partly based his Brexit drive on opposition to mass immigration to Britain that he said was leading to rapid change in his country.

His appearance came as Trump sought to moderate his own hardline stance against illegal immigration. In remarks broadcast on Wednesday, Trump backed further away from his vow to deport millions of illegal immigrants, saying he would be willing to work with those who have abided by U.S. laws while living in the country.

Trump summoned Farage on stage in the middle of his appearance, shook his hand and surrendered the microphone to him.

Farage said he would not actually endorse Trump because he did not want to repeat what he called President Barack Obama’s meddling in British affairs when Obama urged Britons to vote to stay in the EU.

“I cannot possibly tell you how you should vote in this election. But you know I get it, I get it. I’m hearing you. But I will say this, if I was an American citizen I wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton if you paid me,” Farage said.

“In fact, I wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton if she paid me,” he added.

Trump has sought to align himself with the Brexit movement, noting he had said before the June 23 referendum that Britons should vote to leave. He visited one of his golf courses in Scotland the day after the vote and boasted that he had predicted the outcome and called it a sign his own campaign would be successful.

Trump has since tumbled in national opinion polls and is fighting to remain competitive with Democratic rival Clinton with little more than two months to go until the Nov. 8 election.

“November 8 is our chance to redeclare American independence,” Trump said, borrowing a phrase Farage used during the Brexit campaign.

‘FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY’

Farage drew parallels between the Brexit movement and the support Trump has received from many Americans who feel left behind by Washington.

“They feel people aren’t standing up for them and they have in many cases given up on the whole electoral process and I think you have a fantastic opportunity here with this campaign,” he said.

Trump’s comments on immigration came in the second part of an interview conducted on Tuesday with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity. They signaled a further softening in his immigration position as he tries to bolster support among moderate voters and minority groups.

Trump, who defeated 16 rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in part based on his opposition to illegal immigrants, said he would not permit American citizenship for the undocumented population and would expel lawbreakers.

To qualify to remain in the United States, Trump said, illegal immigrants would have to pay back taxes.

“No citizenship. Let me go a step further – they’ll pay back taxes, they have to pay taxes, there’s no amnesty, as such, there’s no amnesty, but we work with them,” Trump said.

“But when I go through and I meet thousands and thousands of people on this subject, and I’ve had very strong people come up to me … and they’ve said: ‘Mr. Trump, I love you, but to take a person who’s been here for 15 or 20 years and throw them and their family out, it’s so tough, Mr. Trump,'” Trump said. “It’s a very hard thing.”

Trump said he would outline his position soon.

“Well, I’m going to announce something over the next two weeks, but it’s going to be a very firm policy,” Trump told WPEC, a CBS affiliate in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump’s new position seemed to resemble in some respects the failed 2007 reform push by former Republican President George W. Bush. That effort offered a way to bring millions “out of the shadows” without amnesty and would have required illegal immigrants to pay a fine and take other steps to gain legal status.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Photo: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Member of the European Parliament Nigel Farage at a campaign rally in Jackson, Mississippi, U.S., August 24, 2016.   REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Christie Is Confronted At Town Hall Event Over Bridge Scandal

Christie Is Confronted At Town Hall Event Over Bridge Scandal

By Melissa Hayes and Karen Sudol, The Record (Hackensack, NJ)

HACKENSACK, NJ — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is back to the town hall events that helped create his image as a straight-talking, tough-walking politician not afraid to mix it up with the people who elected him.

But now, nearly three months into the biggest scandal of Christie’s political career, these carefully staged and tightly controlled events have been marked by protests and tainted by claims of police intimidation.

And on Thursday in Flemington, Christie faced a first: a direct question from the audience about the George Washington Bridge controversy itself.

Fred Kanter of Mountain Lakes took the microphone and after a few jokes with Christie asked the governor to explain himself about why he fired the aide who wrote that “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” email at the heart of the scandal.

Kanter, a Democrat, took issue with Christie’s January statement that Bridget Anne Kelly was fired because she lied to him. Kanter, facing Christie in a room full of about 400 people, called that “a very self-centered reason for firing somebody” and said Kelly should have been let go for her involvement in the lane closures.

It was a question that provoked Christie’s longest statement on Kelly’s behavior since he fired her, and it came after the governor had boasted that residents were not concerned about the closures because they weren’t raising the issue with him at events.

“Let me be really clear — and I thought I was really clear that day — that what happened in that circumstance is unacceptable, not approved by me, would never be approved by me and the folks who were involved in that absolutely would have lost their jobs, whether they told the truth or lied about it,” Christie said.

But the governor wouldn’t go as far as to say Kelly, of Ramsey, had broken any laws, noting that prosecutors are looking into the matter so it would be inappropriate for him to comment.

Christie was matter-of-fact in his response. He was animated, talking with his hands as he often does, but he didn’t raise his voice as he’s done when confronted by critics. The governor called the access lane closures, which tied up traffic in Fort Lee for four days, “wrong and abusive and unacceptable.” A state legislative panel and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are investigating the closures.

After the event Kanter said he didn’t think Christie sufficiently answered his question.

“I think he’s very, very skillful — of course, that’s why he’s governor — and he danced around the question I asked,” Kanter said.

Kanter’s question was the latest to put Christie on the defensive.

In recent weeks the Republican governor has found himself defending his administration’s use of Superstorm Sandy aid and explaining why protesters have attended his town hall events — he blames the Communications Workers of America, the largest union representing public employees.

Thursday’s event came as the Attorney General’s Office confirmed it was investigating why a state police officer had taken photographs of protesters at Christie’s South River event on Tuesday, something that was first reported by PolitickerNJ.com. On Wednesday, acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman ordered state police to stop taking photographs of the demonstrators at the public events.

The state police have also increased security at the events, using wands to scan attendees and checking their bags before they can enter. A state police spokesman said it was unrelated to the protests and something that had been long planned, as hundreds of people attend the events.

There were demonstrators there Thursday, but unlike events in Mount Laurel and South River, where protesters shouted out questions at the governor, they took a different approach.

Eleven people sitting in a row, each wearing homemade T-shirts that together spelled out “Bridgegate?” stood up quietly raising their hands each time Christie called on members of the audience to ask him a question. The governor never called on any one from the group, all members of New Jersey Citizen Action, a liberal advocacy organization.

Ann Vardeman, who was wearing one of the shirts, said the group had hoped to ask the governor whether there had ever been a traffic study performed by the Port Authority — the reason Christie’s appointees at the agency had given for the lane closures last year.

“We followed the rules, we didn’t disrupt anything, we were really trying to be respectful and get our question asked,” she said. “This is a question that a lot of people have and the citizens of New Jersey and every single person on that bridge deserves an answer.”

When asked if the group was intimidated by the increased security measures, Vardeman said, “We don’t have anything to hide, we don’t have anything to be scared of. We’re not doing anything wrong.” She added that Citizen Action was “appalled” at the state police for photographing protesters at the last event.

Christie had a number of supporters in the event, and many said they didn’t mind the increased security.

“I think with the most recent town hall meetings with the people coming in and causing trouble they’ve increased it, and I had no problem being wanded, and I think if you have a problem being wanded then you shouldn’t be here,” said Barbara Moritz of Flemington.

Photo: Gage Skidmore via Flickr