Former President Donald Trump spun wild tales during a Thursday Fox News town hall in Iowa after moderator Sean Hannity vowed not to fact-check his statements.
Unlike in last month's CNN town hall, where anchor Kaitlan Collins countered Trump's litany of misleading and false claims with fact-checks, Hannity delivered on his vow to keep the event free of fact-checking and debate.
"One thing I will tell you, this town hall is not going to be like fake news CNN. I am not there to debate the candidate. I am not there to argue with the candidate," Hannity said during a segment of Thursday's episode of "The Sean Hannity Show," which was republished by progressive watchdog Media Matters.
"I am there to ask questions and let the candidate give their answer and let the audience ask their questions," he continued. "That's my job tonight. That will be a great distinction."
Trump capitalized on that freedom during Fox's town hall, making grandiose claims about his ability to "fix" what Hannity called the "bread and butter" issues of the country. The Republican primary frontrunner pointed blame at President Joe Biden for high energy prices, the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border and the nation's "law and order" issues, claiming instead that he could mend them within "six months" in office.
He simultaneously took aim at his opponent for the Republican nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, again, following his Wednesday posts to Truth Social criticizing the Florida conservative.
"I hear 'DeSanctis' say, 'Oh, well I get eight years ... he gets four,'" Trump said, referring to DeSantis. "You don't need four, and you don't need eight. You need six months."
Trump also doubled down on his claims that he would end the war in Ukraine "in 24 hours," adding that, if he were still in office, Russian President Vladimir Putin would have never carried out the invasion.
"I will get them into a room ... and I'm telling you, within 24 hours that whole thing will be settled," the former president told Hannity, describing his purported game plan.
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Hannity turned the discussion to the Justice Department's investigation into Trump's handling of classified materials post-presidency during the town hall, questioning him about bombshell reports that federal prosecutors obtained a 2021 recording on which he notes that documents in his possession are classified.
"I don't know anything about it," Trump, who has previously argued that he had the power as president to declassify documents with his mind, said of the recording.
"All I know is this: everything I did was right," he continued. "We have the Presidential Records Act, which I abided by 100 percent."
At another point during the event, Hannity moved to question Trump about his tendency to hurl insults at his political opposition and suggested he might tamp down the remarks to appeal to moderate voters.
"People ask me, 'Why does he have to fight so hard? Why doesn't he pick his fights a little more? Why does he have to call people names?' And the only reason I think this is an important question is because these… I think everyone here tonight is likely voting for you, right?" Hannity said, prompting cheers of agreement from the crowd.
Hannity continued, saying that the results of the 2024 election would likely rest in the hands of those who want Trump to "just tone it down a hair, stop a little of the name-calling."
Boos and shouts of "No!" erupted from the audience
"I said it's their question. Leave me alone," Hannity fired back before further pushing the suggestion to Trump. The presidential candidate dismissed it.
"From the day I got in I was under siege by people that had been in Washington for many years, put in there by many different presidents, in most cases people that were against me," Trump responded.
"They spied on my campaign. They did all sorts of things. I was under investigation and under siege and so were my people," he continued. "And if I wasn't tough, I wouldn't be here right now. I guarantee you that. If I didn't fight back, I wouldn't be here."
Trump, in addition to insulting his challengers, also claimed the military had a "woke" problem and criticized Hannity for joking about Biden's cognitive ability, telling the audience that he had reprimanded the host for the comments.
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