EXPLAINER
The former president and 2024 contender suggested he may have decided on his pick for vice president, but he didn't name anyone.
Boycotting the presidential debate for the fifth consecutive time, former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attended a town hall in Iowa.
The event, broadcast on Fox News, ran parallel to the city's fifth primary debate on Wednesday night, where presidential hopefuls Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley clashed over issues such as US support for Israel and the abortion laws in the country.
Trump is a favorite in the November 2024 election and has repeatedly skipped presidential debates, saying the party should focus on the general election. Critics also see this as a strategy to draw viewers away from their rivals' events.
Fox News held town hall meetings with Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley last week. But Trump demanded that his town hall be broadcast at the same time as the presidential debate.
Here are three key takeaways from Trump's town hall.
Trump on his opponents
Trump tried to appear indifferent to his opponents in the political world while also criticizing Haley.
In his campaign in recent weeks, Trump has spoken of “retaliation” for his political enemies if he returns to power. When asked about it on Wednesday, Trump said: “The ultimate reward is success.”
He mocked former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's exit from the race just before the Haley-DeSantis debate.
“No one cared too much about that,” Trump said of Christie's importance in the race.
However, he supported Christie's criticism of Haley. In what appears to have been a hot moment on the mic, Christie was heard saying that Haley would be “smoked” in the race.
“I know her very well and I think Chris Christie is right,” Trump said. “It's one of the few things he's gotten right,” he added, as the crowd laughed.
Access to abortion
Trump boasted about his role in ending Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that had legalized abortion nationwide until it was overturned in June 2022, but said he favored exceptions to the ban on abortion.
Trump explained that this “concession” would be necessary to win the election.
“We have to win elections,” Trump also said. “Otherwise you will be back where you were and you can't let that happen again. “You have to win elections.”
Trump did not specify what those concessions would entail, but listed exceptions such as cases of rape, incest and when the mother's life is at stake.
Trump hints at his choice of vice president
When asked about his choice of vice presidential running mate, Trump “knows who it will be” but declined to provide any names.
His top campaign advisers, Chris LaCivita and Jason Miller, told reporters after the town hall that they had not discussed the selection in great detail, but that Trump had talked about the qualities he wanted in his vice president.
The two said the names had not been explicitly discussed in those conversations and did not elaborate on what those qualities were.
“I'm sure when that time comes, everyone will know who he is,” LaCivita said.
