MSNBC’s Chris Matthews–Donald Trump town hall featured the complete exchange in which Matthews pushed Trump into talking about “punishment” for abortions. Once MSNBC released the clip of that moment earlier, both pro-choice and pro-life people had a field day tearing into the GOP frontrunner. Trump later flip-flopped, but as you can see in the video below, Matthews very persistently got him to say there should be a punishment––he just hasn’t determined what it will be. Trump initially avoided the punishment issue, but Matthews said, “This is not something you can dodge.” He got The Donald to say that “you will go back to a position like they had where people will perhaps go to illegal places,” and it was clear Matthews got pretty testy in trying to pin him down on this. And then came the now-infamous moment: MATTHEWS: Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no as a principle? TRUMP: The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment. MATTHEWS: For the woman? TRUMP: Yes, there has to be some form. Matthews pressed Trump on the specific punishment and Trump said, “I’m not going to play that game.” He also said he doesn’t think the man involved should face any punishment. Chris Matthews confronted Donald Trump over his continued support of Corey Lewandowski after he was charged with battery for grabbing Michelle Fields. Matthews asked Trump if he “could have handled it differently” and maybe showed Fields more respect. Trump said no. Matthews tried asking Trump about Fields’ bruised arm. Trump said, “I don’t know who created those bruises. I really don’t know. I mean, you know, two days later, she comes in and she said she had some bruises.” Matthews countered, “But this kind of argument just infuriates her and a lot of women because you’re not showing belief in her credibility.” Trump still insisted he did absolutely nothing wrong and lamented “political correctness,” ignoring Matthews’ questions bout having “any sympathy for her” or, at the very least, a simple apology. Trump even suggested that Fields didn’t quit Breitbart, but was, in fact, fired. Chris Matthews asked Donald Trump about using nukes during tonight’s MSNBC town hall, and boy did Trump put him at unease… Trump has recently talked about letting more nations have access to nuclear weapons, and Matthews asked him about using them in the Middle East or Europe. Trump said he would be “very slow and hesitant” on the matter, but Matthews wanted to know why he’s opently talking about using nukes at all, saying, “You got hooked into something you shouldn’t have talked about.” The Donald continued explained, “Look, nuclear should be off the table. But would there be a time when it could be used, possibly?” He refused to take it off the table in the Middle East, and even Europe. Matthews bewilderedly asked, “You might use it in Europe?” Trump said “I don’t think so,” but when Matthews pressed him to give a straight answer, Trump again said he can’t take any cards off the table. Watch above, via MSNBC.

• published: 31 Mar 2016
• views: 183