Halfway through a town hall hosted by Univision on Wednesday, Ramiro Gonzalez stood in front of Donald J. Trump and told the former president that he had lost his support.
Mr. Gonzalez, 56, a self-described Republican, said he was alarmed when a mob of Mr. Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He did not like Mr. Trump’s leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, and he was dismayed by the chorus of former Trump administration officials who no longer support him. “I want to give you the opportunity to try to win back my vote,” Mr. Gonzalez, of Tampa, Fla., said.
Mr. Trump declined to take it.
Instead, he defended his actions on Jan. 6, offering a picture often at odds with reality. He insisted the crowds who came to Washington “didn’t come because of me, they came because of the election,” ignoring his own role in stoking election denialism. And he added: “Some of those people went down to the Capitol — I said, ‘peacefully and patriotically.’ Nothing done wrong. At all, nothing done wrong.”
Then, after criticizing the Biden administration and pivoting to the border, Mr. Trump addressed Mr. Gonzalez’s plea. “Maybe we’ll get your vote,” he said. “Sounds like maybe I won’t, but that’s OK, too.”