Fox News host Sean Hannity spoke on Monday after the second assassination attempt on President Trump about the unprecedented security demands by the Secret Service for a recent town hall he hosted with Trump in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania several weeks after the first attempt.
Trump is scheduled to hold a town hall in Flint, Michigan Tuesday night with Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders who served as White House press secretary during Trump’s first term. It will be interesting to see the set-up for this event compared to the Harrisburg town hall.
Admission check in for a Fox News town hall with President Trump hosted by Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024, photo by Kristinn Taylor.
The town hall was held on September 4 at the Farm Show Complex. Trump had originally struck a deal with Fox to host a presidential debate with Kamala Harris for that day hosted by Fox, but Harris refused to participate, opting for the September 10 debate with ABC. Audience attendance was limited to those who were approved after submitting an application with their social media account along with a question they would like to ask Trump. A security code was needed for entry.
During the taping of the town hall, Hannity alluded to security constraints for the event without going into detail. I was in the audience for the taping and was struck by the how isolated the stage was and how empty the arena was.
Hannity said on Fox and Friends Monday morning that the Secret Service demanded no audience members be allowed on the floor and that the arena could not be filled. Fox was able to mask some of the emptiness of the arena with TV magic, but being there in person was a whole different experience. Hannity also said that for the first time in his experience the Secret Service took him aside and showed him two locations where he could go to protect himself in case gunfire broke out while he and Trump were on stage during the taping.
There was plenty of law enforcement officers all over the grounds outside and inside the event. Without going into detail there were police and federal agents in places I had not seen before at Trump rallies.
So as a result, instead of an intimate town hall, the event was held in a cavernous, isolated venue. That didn’t stop the thousand-or-so Trump supporters in attendance from rocking the joint. The crowd was so fired up and chanting so loud for Trump that at times Hannity couldn’t ask questions over the din.
Sean Hannity is physically unable to conduct his interview of Donald Trump because of how FIRED UP this Pennsylvania crowd is! pic.twitter.com/27ceV8abvQ
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 5, 2024
My photos from the town hall followed by a couple short videos taken when the taping ended.
The set for a Fox news town hall with President Trump hosted by Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024, photo by Kristinn Taylor
The stage for a Fox News town hall with President Trump hosted by Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024, photo by Kristinn Taylor.
From further away in the arena, the starkness of the staging stands out, a far cry from the packed, intimate setting for Trump’s rallies or previous town halls:
Set for the Fox News town hall with President Trump hosted by Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024, photo by Kristinn Taylor.
The stage lighting played havoc on the telephoto imaging on my smartphone, so all my photos of Trump and Hannity look like this one:
Sean Hannity interviewing President Trump during a Fox News town hall in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024, photo by Kristinn Taylor.
State troopers in the shadows just off the arena floor.
Set piece in the background for a Fox News town hall with President Trump hosted by Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024.
People in the front row were told to remain seated. Police officers were spread out across the arena floor while Secret Service agents took their usual positions around the stage during the interview.
Sean Hannity interviews President Trump during a Fox News town hall in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024, photo by Kristinn Taylor.
It was quite an unsettling experience to see Trump in an arena with so many empty seats.
The Secret Service limited the crowd size for the Fox News town hall with President Trump, reported host Sean Hannity, Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024, photo by Kristinn Taylor.
Fox did not allow video recording during the taping, so I took some videos right after it ended of Trump and Hannity leaving the stage, greeting supporters and then departing:
My video of President Trump and Sean Hannity leaving the stage after a Fox News town hall in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024. Hannity spoke on Monday about the unusual security demands by the Secret Service restricting the audience size and barring them from the floor. pic.twitter.com/Z0JIAlcdYS
— Kristinn Taylor (@KristinnFR) September 17, 2024
My video of President Trump and Sean Hannity leaving the arena after a Fox News town hall in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024. Hannity spoke on Monday about the unusual security demands by the Secret Service restricting the audience size and barring them from the floor. pic.twitter.com/nXAMWg5cd8
— Kristinn Taylor (@KristinnFR) September 17, 2024
Bonus photos after the town hall. Republican Senate nominee Dave McCormick was warmly greeted by supporters outside. Many selfies were taken with McCormick who is polling about even with incumbent Democrat Sen. Bob Casey:
Pennsylvania Republican Senate nominee Dave McCormick poses with supporters after attending a Fox News town hall with President Trump hosted by Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024, photo by Kristinn Taylor.
Pennsylvania Republican Senate nominee Dave McCormick poses with supporters after attending a Fox News town hall with President Trump hosted by Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024, photo by Kristinn Taylor.
Last photo. This was the smallest merchandise row I’ve seen at a Trump event going back to the first rally I covered in 2015 in Sarasota, Florida. Just two vendors, but business was great.
Merchandise row outside the Fox News town hall with President Trump hosted by Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, PA, September 4, 2024, photo by Kristinn Taylor.
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