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Trump cuts short his town hall Q&A in favor of songs from rally playlist
Former President Donald Trump‘s town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles outside Philadelphia, was abruptly cut short on Monday evening after two attendees needed medical attention, and then took an unusual turn after they were taken from the venue.
Trump was fielding questions from voters, with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem moderating, when a man in the crowd apparently fainted about 30 minutes into the session.
“That looks a little bit bad,” Trump said as a stretcher was brought into the site.
While the man was being treated, the Q&A stopped, and during the pause, Trump asked his staff backstage to “work quickly” and play “Ave Maria” — one of his favorite songs. The crowd also sang “God Bless America” a capella.
Soon after the man was taken out of the venue, Trump began answering a question on immigration when another medical incident interrupted the town hall.
“Ave Maria” came back on as event staffers made their way to the individual. Trump then requested a different version of “Ave Maria,” sung by Luciano Pavarotti, a favorite artist of his.
The former president then decided to preempt the remainder of the town hall.
“Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music,” Trump said, offering as an explanation for the change in plans, “Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?”
Several songs off of the former president’s playlist played for the next 40 minutes, including “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown as Trump and Noem stood on stage, and Trump swayed to the music while Noem smiled and clapped.
“An American Trilogy” by Elvis Presley and “Nothing Compares 2 U,” by the late Sinead O’Connor — two of his favorite songs — filled the room as Trump and Noem periodically half-danced and listened to the playlist. A panel of supporters that was also standing behind them on stage. O’Connor’s estate previously requested that Trump stop playing the song at his campaign events.
The Trump campaign Twitter account said that the former president “turned this town hall into a concert.”
“Something very special is happening in Pennsylvania right now at the Trump townhall,” Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a post on X. “@realDonaldTrump is unlike any politician in history, and it’s great.”
Trump departed the stage to “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses and glad-handed with voters who stayed throughout the duration of Trump’s playlist as “Memory” from the musical “Cats” played.
Harris’ campaign account posted on social media about the town hall that the former president “acted confused when asked if they should end the event and play a walk off song” and showed video from the event. Harris posted on X, “Hope he’s okay.”
Monday’s town hall comes on the heels of Trump’s refusal over the weekend to release his medical records after Vice President Kamala Harris released hers. After the town hall, Trump posted on Truth Social about Harris’ medical records, writing, “As to her completely desperate request for my Medical Statements, she is dying to see my Cholesterol (which is 180!), I have already provided them, many times, including quite recently, and they were flawless.”
Trump is set to return to the campaign trail on Tuesday, with stops in Chicago and the crucial battleground state of Georgia.
There were no injuries after a Southwest flight carrying passengers was struck by gunfire on the tarmac of Dallas Love Field Friday night, authorities said.
Southwest Airlines Flight 2494 was preparing for departure to Indianapolis when “a bullet apparently struck the right side of the aircraft under the flight deck,” a Southwest spokesperson told CBS News in a statement.
The airline said no one was hurt. A spokesperson for Dallas Love Field said in an email that the aircraft returned to its gate after sustaining damage from a “security incident” and the passengers deplaned. The runway was also temporarily closed, but has since reopened.
Dallas police confirmed the incident, saying that officers responded to reports of gunfire at 9:48 p.m. local time, arriving to find that the aircraft had been struck.
No further details were provided on the circumstances of the incident or what was the potential source of the gunfire. It’s unclear how many people were aboard the jet at the time, or how much damage the aircraft sustained.
In its own statement provided to CBS News, the Federal Aviation Administration said that the plane “was reportedly struck by gunfire near the cockpit.”
Dallas police are leading the investigation into the incident.
Earlier this week, gunfire amid ongoing gang violence struck three planes that were either landing or departing Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince. The shootings prompted the FAA to issue a 30-day ban on U.S. airlines flying to Haiti.
Social media star Jake Paul defeated boxing legend Mike Tyson in a highly anticipated fight with an age difference of over three decades between the two contenders. The Friday night win for the YouTuber-turned-pro-boxer was streamed on Netflix from the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Texas.
Paul defeated Tyson by an unanimous decision after the two fighters went eight full rounds.
Fight night for the 58-year-old Tyson and 27-year-old Paul came following doubts over whether it would happen at all. The fight was originally scheduled for July, but was postponed after the former heavyweight champion experienced an ulcer flare-up on a plane in May.
A different kind of flare-up happened during the official weigh-in Thursday with Tyson slapping Paul in the face. Tyson later told the New York Post that Paul had stepped on his toe when the two were toe to toe onstage.
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What is Jake Paul’s fight record?
With the win, Paul’s record improved to 11-1.
Was Jake Paul predicted to win?
Oddsmakers had Paul as the slight favorite to win. Former heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua also went with Paul.
How much prize money does Jake Paul win?
Paul was expected to earn about $40 million from the fight, according to DraftKings Network and other online sources.
Promoters didn’t reveal the payouts ahead of the bout. Paul is a co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, which produced the fight.
Does Mike Tyson still get paid?
Tyson was expected to take home around $20 million for the fight, according to DraftKings and other online reports.
Tyson entered professional boxing in 1985 and became the youngest heavyweight champion in history a year later. After serving time for a rape conviction in the 1990s, Tyson won the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association titles.
He retired from boxing in 2005 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011. He last fought in a 2020 exhibition match against former four-division world champ Roy Jones Jr.
“He like put on another 20 pounds from when I fought him, so he’s more bigger and he’s more dangerous because more size, more power, so it’s going to be a tough one for Jake to climb,” Jones told CBS News ahead of the fight.
Anne Marie Lee and
contributed to this report.
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