8 OctOber 24-30, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL The internet reacted to Trump’s town hall — and didn’t hold back. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN F ormer president Donald Trump answered ques- tions from undecided Hispanic voters in Miami on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 16, as part of Univision’s town hall. The Latinos Ask... Donald Trump Responds town hall, which Mexican journalist Enrique Acevedo moderated, was a question-and-answer forum during which the Republican nominee fielded questions on topics including immigration, gun control, climate change, January 6, and, of course, the widely debunked pet-eating claims. The Doral event followed Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ town hall with Latino voters in Las Vegas last week. The hourlong segment, which was taped to air before the late news that night, proved to be a striking departure from typical Trump stump events and town halls, wherein all the questions come from his supporters. The au- dience members at this town hall identified themselves as undecided or one-time Repub- licans asking the former president to win back their votes. True to form, however, Trump deflected questions — about his stance on gun control, his views on climate change and women’s re- productive rights, and what transpired on January 6, 2021. Instead, he boasted about the health of the economy under his watch, claimed he defeated ISIS in two months, de- scribed himself as an “environmentalist” with a track record of climate-conscious construc- tion (including at his golf course conveniently located half a mile north of Univision’s stu- dio), and asserted that U.S. neighbors are emptying their mental hospitals and jails to imperil our borders. As soon as the broadcast hit the airwaves, journalists, pundits, and activists chimed in on social media to call attention to what had turned out to be a singular event. “You can watch full Univision Town Hall with Trump here,” Jeffrey Gold, an attorney and legal analyst for CNN, Fox News, and ABC, and other networks, tweeted on X. “Probably the most revealing performance he’s ever given. Asked all salient questions by the audience, he gave almost no satisfaction to any questioner, and the audience was aghast for the most part.” Many focused on the moments when the network’s cameras caught questioners or audience members visibly reacting to what they clearly seemed to feel was Trump’s dissembling. “Not sure we’ve ever seen anything like this before,” progressive media company MeidasTouch marveled. “The audience at Trump’s Univision town hall is visibly show- ing their disgust over and over for Trump as he lies about January 6.” Independent journalist Marcy Wheeler, who tweets on X as @emptywheel, ap- plauded farmer Jorge Velázquez for asking who would do the tough jobs like cutting broccoli and picking strawberries if Trump realizes his dream of mass deportations. “This was, IMO, still the most compelling video of the day,” Wheeler observed. “By far. This was a question no journalist has posed to him, and it goes to the core of his fascist plans.” Many praised Ramiro González, the construction worker who offered Trump “the opportunity to try and win back my vote.” “The best journalist in America is a 56-year-old construction worker from New Jersey,” self-styled pundit Oliver Alexander quipped on X. MAGA world had gone down a conspiracy rabbit hole after they spotted a tele- prompter at Harris’ Las Vegas town hall. (It turned out to have been there for the moderator to use.) The internet noticed the same device in Doral. “Trump had the same teleprompter at his Univision town hall that Harris did,” journalist Sam Stein tweeted. “It wasn’t for there him, and it wasn’t there for her.” Another user took note when Trump dropped an insult about non-English-speak- ing immigrants while responding to a ques- tion posed by a Mexican immigrant who had asked his question in Spanish. “During the Univision town hall, a voter asks a question, through a translator, about the Haitian conspiracy. Trump, in response, doubled down and, even worse, rails against people who need translators,” the post reads. Meanwhile, closer to home, failed 2024 presidential candidate and sitting Miami mayor Francis Suarez had a different take. “President Trump did a fantastic job on Univision tonight!” tweeted Suarez, who has offered to join Trump on the campaign trail. “He made it clear why Hispanic Americans are voting Republican at record levels. It’s simple: we want safe communities, prosperous families, and a bright future for our children.” [email protected] Viewers react at the town hall. Univision screenshots via YouTube | METRO | “HE GAVE ALMOST NO SATISFACTION TO ANY QUESTIONER, AND THE AUDIENCE WAS AGHAST FOR THE MOST PART.”
