Trump’s defiance at the CNN town hall may scare off many voters — but not the GOP base
NEW YORK — The Republicans in the audience laughed when former President Donald Trump mocked a woman who accused him of rape. They cheered when he defended his role during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. And they applauded again after he said he was “honored” to “terminate Roe v. Wade.”
Trump’s defiant performance at the CNN town hall on Wednesday may ultimately hurt his standing with key groups of voters in next fall’s general election, especially women, suburbanites and independents. But the reaction of those who attended also demonstrated his extraordinary grip on the conservative voters who will soon decide the fight for the GOP presidential nomination.
ADVERTISING
The magnitude of the challenge ahead for Trump’s Republican rivals was clear as the former president repeatedly turned his greatest political liabilities into jokes and applause lines for the GOP base. On Thursday, a day after the town hall, Trump’s Republican critics conceded they don’t know how to stop him.
“GOP voters want what Trump gave them last night — the lies, the personal attacks… and the confrontation with the media,” said Sarah Longwell, founder of the anti-Trump Republican Accountability Project. “I think it was an important wakeup call that Trump is still the likeliest GOP nominee. It’s scary, but important we face it and do everything we can to keep him from becoming president again.”
The first votes of the GOP primary won’t be cast until early next year and the nomination itself won’t be formally decided until next summer. But early public polling suggests Trump is the overwhelming frontrunner. And so far, most of his Republican opponents have been unable, or unwilling, to use his most egregious behavior against him for fear that such attacks could alienate the same conservative voters they hope to win over.
Almost none of the GOP’s 2024 class has seized on Trump’s many legal entanglements, even after a jury this week found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a civil case brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll.
