Trump Quizzed On Masks, Taxes In Miami Town Hall: Rewind

MIAMI, FL — President Donald J. Trump was quizzed by Florida voters and an NBC anchor Thursday night during a town hall forum in the Miami area. The event at the Pérez Art Museum included discussions on health care, Trump's refusal to order the wearing of masks to stem the spread of the coronavirus and his income taxes.

Trump was originally scheduled to be at downtown Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts Thursday for a debate with former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee. That event was canceled after Trump declined to participate virtually following his COVID-19 diagnosis.

Biden had his own town hall Thursday evening, hosted by ABC News, in Philadelphia.

Trump was pinned down by host Savannah Guthrie of the "Today" show on whether he's paid income taxes and if he could clear up the questions around his financial outlook. The president didn't say how much he might have paid — reporting by The New York Times suggested no taxes paid some years and no more than $750 in other years — and repeated that he would not share his tax returns until he strikes a deal with the Internal Revenue Service on an audit.

While the president told listeners he would implement an improved and more affordable health care system, he refused to give any details Thursday.

He attacked the Affordable Care Act repeatedly when asked about his plans to lower health care costs and claimed, incorrectly, that he’s already lowered health care costs, the Associated Press reported.

While his administration is at the U.S. Supreme Court trying to overturn the Affordable Care Act — and its protection for people with preexisting conditions — Trump said he will ensure coverage for those health issues.

At the start of the town hall, Guthrie asked Trump about his bout with coronavirus and his testing timeline. The president first announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 Oct. 2.

When pressed by Guthrie, he wouldn't definitively say whether he had a coronavirus test the day of the Sept. 29 debate, which was required of both candidates to participate. The president said he couldn’t remember if he had taken a test that day, adding that he "test(s) all the time."

"Possibly I did; possibly I didn’t," he said.

Trump also wouldn't commit to telling citizens they should wear masks in public as a way to slow the spread of coronavirus.

"People with masks are catching it all the time," he said, eventually stating that he was "good with masks."

Guthrie also asked Trump to denounce white supremacy, noting that he's hesitated to do so in the past.

"I denounce white supremacy. I’ve denounced white supremacy for years," he said, looking visibly annoyed by the question.

He wouldn't disavow the group QAnon or its conspiracy theory that there's a Democrat-run Satanic cult involved in child sex trafficking, though.

"I know nothing about QAnon," Trump said, adding, "But I know about Antifa and I know about the radical left, and I know about how violent they are and how vicious they are."

When pressed about QAnon, he told Guthrie, "What I do hear about it is they are very strongly against pedophilia and I do agree with that."

She also asked him about his recent retweet of a QAnon conspiracy theory that Biden orchestrated the murder of Navy SEAL Team Six to cover up the fake death of Osama bin Laden.

"That was a retweet. That was an opinion of somebody and that was a retweet," Trump said. "I'll put it out there. People can decide for themselves. I don't take a position."

Guthrie said, "I don't get that. You're the president. You're not like somebody's crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever."

Before arriving in Florida, the president campaigned in Greenville, North Carolina, and will appear at the Ocala International Airport Friday at 1 p.m.

Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the Memorial Cubano in Tamiami Park in Miami Thursday at 12:30 p.m. Meanwhile, Eric Trump appeared at an Evangelicals for Trump event Thursday at 3 p.m. at Segadores De Vida at 20850 Griffin Road in Southwest Ranches. Tickets to all Trump campaign events, other than the town hall, can be registered in advance online here.

Trump spoke at the Orlando Sanford International Airport Monday night. This was his second campaign event since contracting COVID-19. His doctors cleared him for campaign activities Saturday.

Watch the video of Trump's Thursday town hall with NBC News.

This story includes reporting by the Associated Press.