Trump Really Wasn’t Happy That Fox News Hosted a Bernie Sanders Town Hall
On Monday night, Fox News hosted a town hall with Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. It may not have gone the way the network was expecting. Sanders was generally well received by the studio audience, which even cheered when host Bret Baier asked them if they supported Medicare-for-All, the all-inclusive healthcare plan for which Sanders has long advocated. President Trump seemed confused, tweeting Tuesday morning about how “weird” it was that “Crazy Bernie” appeared on his favorite network. “Not surprisingly, @BretBaier and the ‘audience’ was so smiley and nice,” Trump wrote.
The president couldn’t seem to get the appearance out of his head Tuesday night. In the span of 30 minutes, he claimed there were actually a bunch of Trump fans outside the previous night’s town hall; railed against the tax returns Sanders released on Monday (the Trump administration appears poised to break the law in an effort to keep the president’s returns from going public); and predicted that the Democratic primary will come down to a race between “Crazy Bernie Sanders” and “Sleepy Joe Biden.”
Many Trump Fans & Signs were outside of the @FoxNews Studio last night in the now thriving (Thank you President Trump) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the interview with Crazy Bernie Sanders. Big complaints about not being let in-stuffed with Bernie supporters. What’s with @FoxNews?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2019
Bernie Sanders and wife should pay the Pre-Trump Taxes on their almost $600,000 in income. He is always complaining about these big TAX CUTS, except when it benefits him. They made a fortune off of Trump, but so did everyone else – and that’s a good thing, not a bad thing!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2019
I believe it will be Crazy Bernie Sanders vs. Sleepy Joe Biden as the two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country (and MANY other great things)! I look forward to facing whoever it may be. May God Rest Their Soul!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2019
May God Rest Their Soul!
Donald Trump may have been frustrated that the hosts were too “smiley” and that Fox News didn’t allow a supposed throng of Trump supporters in to disrupt the event, but it wasn’t as if Baier and co-host Martha MacAllum didn’t do all they could to challenge Sanders. They just weren’t very successful.
Sanders had practical, sensible responses to everything the hosts threw at him. He deflected criticism that as a millionaire he is benefitting from Trump’s tax cut by simply pointing out that he voted against it. When pressed about how his policies could cause the national debt to balloon, he wondered why more Republicans weren’t saying the same thing about the $1.5 trillion tax break Trump gave to wealthy Americans and corporations raking in billions. Sanders also took it to the president directly. “Whether you’re a conservative, a moderate, or a progressive, I don’t think the American people are proud that we have a president who is a pathological liar,” he said. “And it does not give me pleasure to say that.”
Bernie Sanders at a Fox News town hall: "Whether you're conservative or moderate or progressive, I don't think the American people are proud that we have a president who is a pathological liar…Trump cannot even tell the truth as to where his father was born." pic.twitter.com/bLyTbxSJVz
— Axios (@axios) April 15, 2019
But the night’s signature moment came when Baier polled the audience about where they get their healthcare, and whether they’d support transitioning to “a government-run system.” Nearly everyone in the room raised their hand, with several people clapping and cheering.
Raise your hand if you're sick and tired of your private health insurance company. We need Medicare for All. #BernieTownHall pic.twitter.com/3euHRCjqn9
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 15, 2019
As the Washington Post points out, the transcript of the town hall notes that the audience applauded 72 times. The event was also the highest-rated town hall of the 2020 primary, with over 2.5 million viewers tuning into the president’s favorite network to watch a bunch of people cheering on the frontrunner to take him on in the 2020 election. Trump appears to have been one of them.