Donald Trump Defends Town Hall That Turned Into Unusual, 40-Minute Listening Session Of ‘Ave Maria’ And Other Songs From His Playlist
Donald Trump defended his decision to turn a town-hall event Monday night into an unusual, nearly 40-minute listening session of his favorite songs from his campaign’s music playlist.
The event was interrupted by two medical emergencies in the crowd, something that is not entirely uncommon at campaign events. But it forced Trump to stop the Q&A as people were tended to.
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Trump stood on stage with Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) as the recorded music played, starting with an orchestral version of “Ave Maria” and then moving to Luciano Pavarotti’s rendition.
“Let’s make this a music fest,” Trump said at one point to the crowd in Oaks, PA. “Who the hell wants to hear questions?”
I had a Town Hall in Pennsylvania last night. It was amazing! The Q and A was almost finished when people began fainting from the excitement and heat. We started playing music while we waited, and just kept it going. So different, but it ended up being a GREAT EVENING!
Donald…— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) October 15, 2024
Trump wrote on Truth Social this morning, “I had a Town Hall in Pennsylvania last night. It was amazing! The Q and A was almost finished when people began fainting from the excitement and heat. We started playing music while we waited, and just kept it going. So different, but it ended up being a GREAT EVENING!”
“Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into a music. Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?”
– Trump Town Hall Oaks Pennsylvania
"Maybe we'll play time to play 'Time to Say Goodbye' when we end."
Kristi Noem: "Yes. Sounds fantastic." pic.twitter.com/tsR1fLmbiU— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) October 15, 2024
Other songs played included Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” The Village People’s “YMCA” and works from James Brown and Elvis. Standing on stage, Trump swayed back and forth at some moments, mimicking dance moves, but it left some journalists wondering just what was happening.
Kamala Harris’ campaign highlighted the unusual moment.
“Trump had a town hall in Pennsylvania tonight, consisting of pre-screened questions moderated by Kristi Noem,” wrote spokesman Ian Sams. “He abruptly cut off the event, then spent 30 minutes simply standing on stage looking at his audience with music playing. “Ave Maria” played 4-5x. No explanation of why.”
Trump appears lost, confused, and frozen on stage as multiple songs play for 30+ minutes and the crowd pours out of the venue early pic.twitter.com/6r0TE2qCYM
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 15, 2024
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