For the past six weeks, we have witnessed just how far President Donald Trump is willing to go to reshape America in his dystopian vision. Now we’re witnessing Republican fear of having to account for that reshaping.
Trump signed more executive orders during his first month than any president in over 40 years. USA TODAY has reported that there be more than 100,000 federal job cuts already. Half the country is, understandably, concerned, and they’re speaking out about it.
As a result, GOP lawmakers holding town halls nationwide are having to answer for Trump and Elon Musk’s reign of chaos – even in deep red districts. Instead of facing those criticisms head on, Republicans have decided to hide.
GOP advises elected officials to shelter in place from voters
On Tuesday, National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson, R-N.C., told a group of House Republicans in a closed-door meeting that they should stop holding in-person town halls in their districts, opting instead to hold the events online or over the phone.
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This comes one day after Trump posted about the uproar on Truth Social. It seems remote work is fine when you’re afraid of your voters.
“Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings,” Trump wrote. “It is all part of the game for the Democrats, but just like our big LANDSLIDE ELECTION, it’s not going to work for them!”
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First: Trump didn’t win in a landslide. He didn’t even get a full 50% of the popular vote.
Besides that, there is no proof that these so-called troublemakers are being paid to show up at these town halls. In fact, this is exactly what should be happening. But imagine being a Republican voter in a red state being called a “paid” actor by the president you voted for.
People are rightfully angry about how Trump and Musk are enforcing the layoffs and the shuttering of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). They are upset about the overreaching influence of Musk, a power-hungry billionaire. They are allowed to be furious.
I’m glad someone is standing up and expressing their frustration to their elected officials, who have sworn to represent their constituents in Congress. It’s incredible that Republicans are incapable of dealing with that.
What are voters telling Republican officials?
A lot of the complaints focus on the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk’s project to cull the federal government of what he deems wasteful spending. According to a recent Washington Post/IPSOS poll, the billionaire has a 34% approval rating.
Across the country, it’s clear that people are upset about the path the Trump administration is taking. These constituents are doing exactly what they should be doing: taking their complaints to their representatives. Many Republicans have answered these questions poorly. Here is a sampling of those conservations:
- “Why is the supposedly conservative party taking such a radical and extremist and sloppy approach to this?” one constituent asked Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., after mentioning DOGE’s staff cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. McCormick’s answer was met with jeers from the crowd.
- “We need three branches of government, not one,” Mary Sylvester told her representative, Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., surrounded by signs that read “Fire Musk” and “Presidents are not kings.” “When will you stand up and say that’s enough?”
- “Just because you have a government job doesn’t mean it’s a lifetime appointment like a Supreme Court,” Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., told a crowd gathered at a coffee shop for his town hall when questioned about local federal government employees. “I would encourage anyone who finds themselves in this situation to realize that we are going to get this economy turning again. There are jobs available. God has a plan and purpose for your life.”
- “This administration has gone absolutely off the tracks,” veteran and registered Republican John Adams told Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., on a telephone town hall after speaking of the DOGE cuts and the United States turning its back on Ukraine. “This is beyond alarming to me, and I feel that it’s worse than we even know.”
Hudson encouraged the representatives to at least take their endeavors online – although, as one will tell you, that solution is far from perfect. Alaskan Rep. Nick Begich received more than 2,000 comments on a Facebook livestream last month.
Republicans want to keep pretending they have a mandate
People are exercising their free speech and telling their representatives how they really feel. Republicans would be filled with glee were it happening to Democrats. They can dish it out, but they don’t know how to take it.
As a reminder, the economy is not doing too great under Trump, thanks to his tariffs on neighboring countries and the mass layoffs in the federal government. It’s already affecting Wall Street. Clearly, Trump has overpromised economic prosperity for his voters and is underdelivering. This is true regardless of how you voted.
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All of this negative attention is affecting Trump’s approval rating, which at 45% is the second-lowest for presidents in their first month in office since 1953, according to Gallup. The only approval rating lower was Trump’s first month in office in 2017, at 40%.
Oh, how times have flown. None of that is proof of a mandate Trump insists he has.
So no, it isn’t exactly surprising that people are contacting their representatives and demanding to know what’s going on. It’s a fair question, and one that we should be asking every politician at this moment.
Republican leaders seem shocked by compassion
Some Republicans are trying to have their constituents’ concerns heard. McCormick of Georgia told NBC News that he would be meeting with Musk and Trump in the coming days to address DOGE’s layoffs, stressing the need for compassion.
Others have responded by dismissing the complaints altogether. Alford of Missouri blamed the coffee shop protest on “outside agitators.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has tried to blame the outbursts on “paid protesters” instead of confronting the fact that, yes, people are actually this upset about how the Trump administration is handling things.
Why can’t Republicans believe that their constituents may disagree with them on something? People disagree all the time. It’s healthy for these conversations to play out in public, and for Republicans to face scrutiny for the way in which they have dismantled the federal government.
Maybe they’re surprised that Americans can express compassion in a way that Republican leaders seem to be unable to fake.
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