Harris responds to Trump's town hall-turned "music fest": "Hope he's okay"
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Republican presidential candidate former President Trump during his town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on Monday. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Former President Trump resorted to having songs played for over half an hour at his Pennsylvania town hall after two separate medical emergencies interrupted the event, which was cut short on Monday night.
The big picture: Trump's campaign hailed the impromptu concert hosted by the GOP presidential nominee who's known for sometimes unorthodox improvisation as "very special," while Vice President Kamala Harris early on Tuesday reposted her team's X post saying he "appears lost, confused" with the comment: "Hope he's okay."
Why it matters: The comments by Harris and her campaign echo a drive in recent days that calls into question Trump's fitness to serve, such as posting video to social media of him giving rambling answers and labeling him "delulu" (delusional).
- The 78-year-old Trump would be the oldest president in U.S. history by the end of his term if he were to win November's election and the 59-year-old Harris and her allies have been pressing him to release his updated medical records — as she did over the weekend.
- At the Democratic presidential nominee's rally in Erie, Pa., on Monday evening, Harris called Trump "increasingly unstable and unhinged" as she played clips of him calling his opponents the "enemy within."
Driving the news: Trump was holding the town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds in Oaks, Pa., with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem when the first medical incident occurred about 30 minutes into the event.
- The Republican presidential nominee asked for "Ave Maria" to be played following the first incident at the exhibition center after calling for a doctor, and an instrumental version of the song was played.
- After the second disruption, Trump joked "would anybody else like to faint?" before requesting "Ave Maria" again and saying he wished someone could open the doors.
- He then asked for Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti's version of the song to be played and for it to be turned up louder, a request that was obliged by his staff.
Zoom in: Trump opted to have more music played, rather than take more questions at the event, as he danced to songs including the Village People's "YMCA" and swayed along to Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U," Rufus Wainwright's version of "Hallelujah" and Guns N' Roses' "November Rain."
- "Let's make it into a music fest," he said. "Who the hell wants to hear questions, right? Isn't that beautiful?"
- While some attendees left early, others remained until the end.
What they're saying: Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung on X called the event a total "lovefest" with everyone "so excited they were fainting" and said "nobody wanted to leave and wanted to hear more songs from the famous DJT Spotify playlist!"
The Harris campaign shared clips on X from Trump's town hall. The campaign clipped moments of him telling supporters "to go out and vote on 'January 5th,'" rambling about the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter, " and standing "frozen and silent on stage" as music played for "30+ minutes."
- Trump adviser Dan Scavino replied to Harris' post with: "OHHH, he's okay!"
- Scavino accused Democrats of manipulating video and "taking it out of context" by removing Trump's remarks about winning in November before the music played.
Go deeper: Harris campaign turns Trump's favorite weapon against him
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
