North Carolina GOP town hall gets rowdy as attendees hurl scathing questions on Trump

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Yahoo! News/AP

Thu, March 13, 2025 at 10:12 PM EDT


ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Before answering an attendee's question about President Donald Trump's “destructive and disastrous trade war,” U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards made a plea to the rowdy crowd at his Thursday town hall in Asheville, North Carolina. “Let me answer and then if you don't like it, you can boo or hiss or whatever you'd like to do,” Edwards said, visibly exhausted. As he expanded on Trump's use of tariffs as a negotiating tactic, it took less than a minute for the crowd to break out in outrage.

He continued to plow ahead in his response and eventually punctuated it by telling attendees he would “stop there and you can yell.” The crowd gladly took him up on the offer. For about an hour and half, Edwards endured a constant barrage of jeers, expletives and searing questions on Trump administration policies. About 300 people crammed inside a college auditorium for the town hall, while the boos from more than a thousand people outside the building rumbled throughout the event.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told GOP representatives last week to skip out on town halls, saying demonstrations outside of them were the work of “professional protesters.” Edwards addressed the Republican leader's advice, saying he didn't want to “shy away” from conversations with the people of western North Carolina — even if they disagreed.

But less than 30 minutes into the town hall, Edwards started to change his tune as a majority of attendees interrupted him with vitriolic disruptions. Asheville is a deep-blue dot amid a sea of red in North Carolina's mountains. North Carolina went for Trump in the 2024 election. “And you wonder why folks don't want to do these town halls,” Edwards said over shouting.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/north-carolina-gop-town-hall-021222462.html

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Ashville has been left in bad shape after multiple flooding events last year and they have a RIGHT to demand answers from the ilk that is their Rep.

[durablend]

1. "Antifa protestors, paid by Soros"

"The left needs to show us respect or else!"

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

9. Anyone know where I can sign up for my George Soros check?

I could use the money.

[mwb970]

2. Watching these sad, sick people try to defend the indefensible makes me tired.

The religious cult that used to be the republican party is just so deeply pathetic.

[Ray Bruns]

3. The people who voted for the Leopards Will Eat Your Face Party are confused as to why the leopards are eating their face

[turbinetree]

4. Did you ask the swinging dick about the cuts to NOAA..............so that you can be prepared.........

or did you give him black sharpies ...................because he votes for vengeance and retributions all the time then comes in with more gaslighting .........you know that compassionate conservative BS.........your a little late..............

[ToxMarz]

5. These townhalls ya'll don't want to do

used to be to let the people you represent know everything you have done for them in Washington and get input as to what else you can do for them when you go back. Since you are doing nothing for them, and proud of it , and telling them tough shit if you don't like it, we are gonna double down on the stupid, I imagine it is pretty unpleasant. But the problem is you, not them.

[erronis]

6. See Tom Sullivan's post for more details, full video

https://digbysblog.net/2025/03/14/town-hall-gets-rowdy/

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) ignores advice not to meet voters



Full town hall video: https://www.youtube.com/live/ZIeQn8RDtYY

Credit NC-11 Rep. Chuck Edwards for actually holding a town hall meeting Thursday evening in Asheville. And for staying 90 minutes.

Beyond that, few of the 400 people who got into the tech school auditorium came away with much more than the satisfaction of heckling him. Local news reports that 2,000 outside Ferguson Auditorium [that number feels inflated] had to content themselves with holding an ad hoc rally.

In a preview earlier in the day in Canton, N.C., the former paper mill town flooded twice in recent years, Edwards dodged a shouted question about cuts to Medicaid harming local schoolchildren.

“I agree with a lot of what’s going on in Washington,” Edwards said early in his Asheville presentation. The comment elicited loud boos, as did criticisms of FEMA and mentions of Donald Trump, bureaucracy, etc.

. . .

[Wild blueberry]

11. So proud of Asheville!

Watched whole town hall, as I have friends there. Great questions, wonderful energy for democracy!
Edwards certainly has food for thought. Hope he digests it well.

Side note: as a former elected official of our small rural town, I give him props for holding a town hall. Although he seems to be in the tank for Frump, he showed up. That is way more than most of the Maga-Rs in Congress are doing.

Thank you, Asheville people!

[Seinan Sensei]

7. Send Edwards one of those emails

Y’know, like one of those damn OPM emails requesting five bullet points listing what he accomplished over the last week.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. tRump is not negotiating w tariffs. He's committed to imposing them for revenue

Short term revenue, because it will dwindle as trade dwindles.

America First! America Only! America alone.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. He wanted to replace "income tax" with tariffs

[OldBaldy1701E]

12. "And you wonder why folks don't want to do these town halls," Edwards said over shouting."

No, I don't wonder that at all.

What I wonder is what these idiots thought was going to happen. They all know what they are doing, and they know what it will create, and they don't care. I am almost convinced that these rethugs thought we would be under martial law or something by now so that they could strut around without fear.

They don't like to be afraid. Which is why I don't understand why we are not making them so more often. This town hall did it. We need way more of this. Make these slime fear even walking out of their house.

[July]

13. Is anyone asking Mikey for his proof of paid protesters?

Or is this just more Republican SOP, get the lie out there and see if it sells?

[July]

14. Is anyone asking Mikey for proof of these paid protesters?

Or is this just more Republican SOP, get the lie out there and see if it sells?