In a politically charged town hall meeting held in La Crosse, Wisconsin, former President Donald Trump and former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard took center stage, engaging in a vigorous discussion about pressing issues facing America today.
The event attracted a packed audience, eager to hear Trumpโs views on everything from immigration and economic hardship to national security and social policies.
Gabbard began the discussion by sharing a deeply personal story about her struggles with infertility and the challenges of in vitro fertilization (IVF). She highlighted concerns that some of Trumpโs critics claim he wants to ban IVF.
โI just know that there are women and couples in this crowd who may be going through this same struggle,โ she said, inviting Trump to address these fears directly.
Trump responded unexpectedly by expressing support for IVF, stating, โI kept hearing that Iโm against it, but Iโm actually very much for it.โ
โIn fact, in Alabama, where a judge ruled against it, I countered the judge and came out with a very strong statement for it. The Alabama legislature was very quick in its response. They were amazing. They virtually approved my statementโฆโ Trump added.
He outlined plans to potentially mandate insurance coverage for IVF treatments and eliminate taxes on related expenses.
โI said, โSo with the tips and with the Social Security, no taxes on Social Security, maybe for IVF,โ and Iโve been looking at it. What weโre going to do is, for people that are using IVF, which is fertilization, the government is going to pay for it, or weโre going to get or mandate your insurance company to pay for it. Weโre going to do that.โ
The town hall also provided a platform for Trump to outline his plans to revive American industry, particularly in the manufacturing sector. He promised to bring back jobs to states like Michigan, which have been hit hard by the outsourcing of manufacturing to countries like Mexico and China.
โWeโre going to bring back the car industry, and weโre going to get a lot of it back to Michigan. Theyโve been taking our cars away. Theyโve been taking our manufacturing away over years, over decades. If you look at it today, itโs a shell of what it was years ago, but weโre going to bring it back. Mexico is, right now, building massive car factories, actually being financed and built by China. They think theyโre going to sell their cars back into our country. Itโs not going to happen. Thatโs not going to happen.โ
โThe union leadership has been horrible. Iโm going to win by 85% with the union because weโre bringing it back. Weโre going to have electric cars, but weโre going to have gasoline-powered cars, or weโre going to have hybrids,โ Trump said.
Trump did not hold back in his critique of Marxist Kamala Harris. He blamed Harris for the current regimeโs failures, particularly in managing the border crisis and handling economic issues.
โI call her โComrade Kamala.โ You know that. Sheโs a Marxist. Her father was a Marxist before her, so she was brought up in the family tradition. She really is, and this country is not ready for a Marxist. We donโt want a Marxist as a President. She destroyed San Francisco. She destroyed California. Weโre not going to let her destroy our country. Iโll tell you, itโs not going to happen.โ
The conversation quickly turned to immigration, a topic that has long been central to Trumpโs platform. An audience member, Amber from Cameron, Wisconsin, expressed concerns about the impact of illegal immigration on job opportunities for her children.
Trump responded by blasting the current regimeโs handling of the border, stating that โmillions and millionsโ of illegal immigrants are taking jobs from Americans, particularly from minority communities. He vowed to โclose the border, really close itโ if re-elected.
Amber: I have three beautiful children, and Iโm torn on who to support. My youngest daughter is here tonight. My oldest son is 18, and he just started trade school this week. Iโm very proud of him. My concern is that illegal immigration is threatening opportunities for my children. I worry that itโs taking away jobs from Americans. Iโm wondering, what will you do about that?
Trump: Iโll tell you, we have the people that Iโm talking about. Theyโre pouring in at levels never seen before. Theyโre coming in by millions and millions, and a lot of them are taking jobs from the Black population, the Hispanic population, and unions are going to be very badly affected becauseโฆ And I was talking to some of the union heads who I actually do get along with, but theyโre very concerned about it because the people that are coming in are just takingโฆ Itโs going to start with the Black population.
African-Americans are losing their jobs. I donโt know if you heard the latest statistic that of the jobs that these people created, which is very little, every single job was taken, about 107% was taken by illegal immigrants.
Thereโs been no job creation from them. The jobs were filled by illegal immigrants. With all of that being said, I want to give you a very positive answer. Weโre going to win this election.
Weโre going to turn this country around. Weโre going to become an unbelievable growth country, and your boy is going to have that job he did, and you want to have a lot of choices with jobs.
Luke Pulaski, a junior at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, raised concerns about rising inflation and the cost of living. Trump laid the blame squarely on the Biden administrationโs energy policies, which he said have driven up prices across the board.
Pulaski: Iโll be voting for the first time in November, and Iโm researching each candidate. I have two questions for you. First, as Iโve been living on my own and buying my own gas and groceries, Iโve noticed that everything has become more expensive.
For me, personally, I try to eat healthy and stay lean. A pound of meat has gone from $4 to almost $7. I also would like to buy a home someday, but that seems just impossible now. Whatโs your plan to make life more affordable and bring down inflation for someone like me?
Trump: Itโs probably the question I get most. They say youโre going to vote with your stomach. I donโt know if youโve heard it, but itโs a little bit true. And groceries, food, have gone up at levels that nobodyโs ever seen before. Weโve never seen anything like it, 50%, 60%, 70%.
You take a look at bacon and some of these products, and some people donโt eat bacon anymore. We are going to get the energy prices down. When we get energy downโฆ This was caused by their horrible energy, wind. They want wind all over the place. But when it doesnโt blow, we have a little problem. This was caused by energy. This was really caused by energy and also their unbelievable spending. T
heyโre spending us out of wealth, actually. Theyโre taking our wealth away. But it was caused by energy. And what theyโve done is they started cutting way back. We were in third place. When I left, we were by far in first place, beating Russia, beating Saudi Arabia. And we were going to dominate to a level that weโve never seen before.
[โฆ]
Weโre going to become the energy capital of the world. Weโre going to pay down our debt, and weโre going to reduce your taxes still further. And your groceries [Pulaski] are going to come tumbling down, and your interest rates are going to come tumbling down, and then youโre going to go out, youโre going to buy a beautiful house. Okay? Youโre going to buy a beautiful house. Thatโs called the American dream. The American dream.
As the event drew to a close, the conversation turned to national security and the upcoming anniversary of September 11th. An audience member named Bernardo expressed concerns about the threat of radical Islamic terrorism and questioned how the country could protect itself from another attack.
Trump responded by highlighting his administrationโs record of keeping radical Islamists out of the country and criticized the current administration for its lax border policies.
Bernardo: Iโm also a father of eight. I have seven here with me. The anniversary of 9/11 is coming up. Iโm concerned that weโre more vulnerable now than ever. We have a Democrat nominee who doesnโt even want to say the words, says we shouldnโt say the words โradical Islamic terror.โ How are we going to protect America from a terrorist attack?
Trump: We have radical Islamists pouring into our country along with everybody else right now. Theyโre coming in at levels that nobodyโs ever seen before. We kept them out. We had one year where Border Patrol put downโฆ It was, I believe, 2019, and I donโt believe this. I donโt believe itโs right, but Iโll take it. They said zero came in in 2019. That was my termโzero. Now we have thousands. Iโd like to say that was true. Itโs probably not because I canโt imagine that, but we were very tough on that.
Now they have thousands and thousands coming in, along with the prisoners and along with the crime. Remember, a lot of these countries like Venezuela, their crime is way down because they moved their criminals into our country. Itโs not even believable. But your question on Islamists and all of the jihad and all of the things that they talk about, they have to respect your country. They have to respect your leader. I had no radical Islamist crime for four years, and I didnโt want to talk about itโฆ
I didnโt want to say, โI had absolutely,โ and the next day, you get hit. But we had noneโfour years of itโbecause they respected your President, they respected your country, and we have to bring back that level of respect, and weโre going to do it, weโre going to do it. Weโre not letting the wrong people into our country.
You can watch the full 38-minute town hall below:
The post Trump and Gabbard Ignite La Crosse: Key Moments from the Explosive Town Hall in Wisconsin appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
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