Former President Trump interrupted a Q&A session during an event with supporters in Pennsylvania Monday night after two long interruptions due to medical emergencies. However, he instead entertained the crowd by playing some of his favorite songs.
The event, held in Oaks, Pennsylvania, saw Trump joined by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R), who had previously been mentioned as a possible vice president. During the town hall, Trump emphasized Pennsylvania’s critical role in securing his victory in November and answered questions from five supporters, mainly addressing immigration and cost-cutting issues.
Two of Trump’s responses were interrupted when crowd participants called for medical assistance. While waiting to resume, Trump asked his staff to play Schubert’s “Ave Maria” through the speakers.
After the second interruption, which lasted several minutes, Trump reportedly asked security to open the doors to reduce the heat in the hall.
“Does anyone else want to faint? Please raise your hand,” he joked after the second person was helped by first responders.
Rather than continue with the questions, Trump indicated to his staff to play more music; they accommodated him, by playing Andrea Bocelli and Luciano Pavarotti’s “Time to Say Goodbye” and James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”
“We could ask another question or two, if you want,” Trump stated, eliciting applause from the audience. But he quickly changed his mind, adding, “How about this one? We’ll play ‘YMCA’ and go home.”
Before the music started, Trump emphasized the importance of voting, repeatedly stressing that Pennsylvania could be the most crucial battleground in the election.
“Let me just give you the bottom line, though,” Trump said. “We win Pennsylvania, we win this great commonwealth, we are going to win the whole ballgame. It’s such an important place.”
Both campaigns responded to Trump’s town hall. On one side, Republicans praised the enthusiastic atmosphere of the event. Trump Campaign Spokesperson Steven Cheung first tweeted: “Something very special is happening in Pennsylvania right now at the Trump town hall,” and later added, “Total lovefest at the PA town hall! Everyone was so excited they were fainting, so Donald Trump turned to music.”
On the other hand, Democrats took the opportunity to mock the entire episode. Harris’ official campaign account shared a clip of Trump slowly swaying to music on stage, stating: “Trump looks lost, confused and frozen on stage as several songs play for over 30 minutes while the crowd leaves early.” Harris herself reposted the clip, adding, “I hope he’s OK.” Later, the campaign further ridiculed Trump, pointing out that he urged his supporters to “go out and vote on January 5” and referred to Hannibal Lecter as “a fictional cannibal serial killer.”
