During a contentious CNN town hall Wednesday night, President Trump dug in on his claims about the 2020 election, downplayed the violence on January 6, 2021, and repeatedly insulted the woman whom a civil jury this week found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming.

Mr. Trump, returning to the network after years of acrimony, also refused to say whether he wants Ukraine to win the war against Russian aggression and said America “might as well” default on its debt obligation, despite the potentially devastating economic consequences.

The former president was cheered on and applauded by an audience of Republican and unaffiliated voters who plan to vote in the GOP primary, as moderator Kaitlan Collins sometimes struggled to correct the record. “You are a nasty person,” he snapped at one point.

The event also highlighted what is perhaps Mr. Trump’s most fundamental challenge as he emerged as the undisputed frontrunner for the Republican nomination to take on President Biden again. 

While Mr. Trump’s tone and divisive statements often thrill Republican primary crowds, he has so far done little to expand his appeal among the moderates and independents who soured on him in 2020 and will be crucial to winning the general election.

Indeed, Mr. Trump on Wednesday repeatedly doubled down on his claims that the 2020 election had been “rigged.” He also displayed no remorse for what happened on January 6, when a mob of his supporters violently stormed the Capitol in a bid to halt the certification of Mr. Biden’s win. 

The 45th president excused his delayed response that day — he was silent for more than three hours as the carnage unfolded — pulling out a printout of his tweeted timeline as a form of defense.

Instead, he lashed out at the police officer who shot and killed rioter Ashli Babbitt, calling him a “thug,” despite a Justice Department finding that the shooting was justified. He said he is inclined to pardon “a large portion” of the rioters charged in the attack. More than 670 people have been convicted of crimes related to that day, including some found guilty of seditious conspiracy or assaulting police officers.

Mr. Trump also rejected a suggestion that he apologize to Vice President Pence, who was targeted by the mob after Mr. Trump insisted that Mr. Pence had the power to overturn the election results.

“I don’t feel he was in any danger,” he said. Mr. Trump said that Mr. Pence was the one who “did something wrong.”

He would not commit to accepting the results of the next election, either, saying he would do so only if he feels “it’s an honest election” — as he said before the 2020 election.

The primetime forum — the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign and Mr. Trump’s first interview appearance on CNN since before he was elected president in 2016 — drew suspicion from both sides of the political divide as soon as it was announced.

Jurors at New York found Mr. Trump had sexually abused and defamed advice columnist E. Jean Carroll nearly three decades ago, though they rejected her claim that he raped her. The jury awarded her $5 million in damages.

Mr. Trump, at Wednesday’s event, called the case “fake news” and insisted he didn’t know Ms. Carroll, even as he attacked her in deeply personal terms. “She’s a wack job,” he said, drawing laughs from the crowd.

Mr. Trump also declined to say whether he wants Ukraine to win its war against Russia. “I don’t think in terms of winning and losing,” he answered. And he declined to say whether he believes President Putin is a war criminal, as the International Criminal Court has alleged.

“That’s something to be discussed at a later date,” Mr. Trump said, arguing that calling Mr. Putin a war criminal would complicate efforts to make a deal to end the conflict. 

As for the looming risk of an government debt default, Mr. Trump sounded blasé. “Well, you might as well do it now because you’ll do it later because we have to save this country,” he said.

A discussion about Mr. Trump’s refusal to turn over classified documents kept at his Mar-a-Lago club was particularly contentious. When Ms. Collins interrupted him at one point, Mr. Trump said, “Can I finish?”

“Yeah, what’s the answer?” she said.

“You are a nasty person,” Mr. Trump quipped.

Mr. Biden responded to the town hall on Twitter, writing: “It’s simple, folks. Do you want four more years of that? If you don’t, pitch in to our campaign.”

Mr. Trump has long called CNN “fake news” and sparred with Ms. Collins. Nonetheless, Mr. Trump’s team saw the invitation from the network as an opportunity to connect with a broader swath of voters than those who usually tune into the conservative outlets he favors. 

One adviser noted that Trump found success in 2016 by stepping outside Republicans’ traditional comfort zone.

Associated Press