NO HOLDING BACK

GOP Rep Mercilessly Taunted in Another Wild Town Hall Clash

A town hall for Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards quickly spiraled out of control.

North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards found himself on the receiving end of serious fury from voters over the policies Trump administration in another Republican-held town hall-gone-wrong on Thursday.

The town hall initially began fairly courteously, as the audience were warned to remain respectful ahead of Edwards’ appearance in Asheville, a city in western North Carolina. But things quickly went downhill.

“The time is now to fix how Washington works,” Edwards began. “To that end, I was proud to vote recently for the House budget resolution which provides for a framework—”

Edwards, grinning, paused as the audience booed and yelled.

“And you wonder why folks don’t want to do these town halls,” Edwards commented, spurring various responses. One man asked him, “Are you afraid of Trump?” while another told him, “Stop selling yourself.”

Edwards didn’t answer the former comment, continuing on with his prepared remarks.

In November, Edwards claimed victory against Democrat Caleb Rudow in the race for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. Buncombe County, where Asheville sits, is a Democratic stronghold in Edwards' otherwise red district. In last year’s presidential election, Kamala Harris won 61.7 percent of the vote in the county, compared to Trump’s 36.9 percent. Trump comfortably won every other county in the district. Edwards had copped heat for debunking GOP lies surrounding the response to Hurricane Helene, but then stood side by side to Trump as he repeated those same lies, according to local reports.

Other noteworthy moments from the town hall included the very first question from the crowd.

“What do you plan to do to make sure North Carolina does not get taken over by dictatorship and fascism?” one individual asked.

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Edwards replied in part, “It sounds like there’s a little bias in that question.” He added, over boos, “We are upholding the Constitution.”

Edwards carried on, but the questions didn’t get any easier for him.

“Do you represent all citizens, even though they may not have voted for you? Or do you work for Donald Trump?” one person inquired.

“I represent all the citizens,” Edwards replied.

“But let‘s be real. We have some differing opinions here,” he continued.

“Every vote that I have, every opinion I have cannot possibly align with everyone‘s opinion. My job is to listen to the folks that I represent, to apply the principles that I have, that I told you that I would use when I went to Washington, D.C., and help make the decisions that cover the needs of more of the folks back here in western North Carolina.”

Edwards powered on, but became increasingly frustrated with the audience. When asked about staffing at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Edwards claimed the Trump administration doesn’t intend on eliminating “any job that directly provides a service to our veterans,” yet acknowledged the existence of an internal memo obtained by the AP saying the VA is planning to cut over 80,000 jobs.

One man told Edwards bluntly, “Do your job that you were sent there to do: to represent us all.” He added: “You’re lying! I’m a veteran, and you don’t give a f--k about me.”

That individual was then removed from the venue by law enforcement at Edwards’ direction.

Amid more vocal dissatisfaction by the audience, Edwards at one point remarked, “I feel like this is not productive with everybody yelling at me.”

He eventually closed the grating town hall by yelling, “Hey, this has been fun.” He added: “I appreciate the opportunity to spend the last 89 minutes with you. I really appreciate the energy that you brought, the contradiction of opinions from time to time, the passion that I hear... and I hope that you will certainly stay engaged with my office.”

The crowd continued to respond negatively.

Edwards took to Facebook after the event, describing the insults and boos as “lively.”

“We may not agree on every issue, but hearing the concerns of Western North Carolinians and answering your questions will continue to be a priority of mine. If you weren’t able to join, stay tuned for information about my upcoming tele-town hall,” he wrote.

Edwards' appearance came after the Trump administration reportedly warned all Republican reps to stay away from such events.

Several Republicans have been confronted by angry constituents in recent weeks, among them Texas Rep. Keith Self, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, and Georgia Rep. Rich McCormick—encounters which House Speaker Mike Johnson tried to shrug off as the work of “paid protesters.”

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After those events generated headlines, one House GOP leader from Edwards’ state even urged his colleagues to stop having them.

“I want to give you some advice on the best way to do town halls,” Rep. Richard Hudson said, the Daily Beast reported last week. “Don’t do town halls.”

Yet last week, Edwards told Business Insider about his scheduled appearance Thursday in Asheville: “I can make up my own mind.”

“I’ve had many constituents ask me lately if I could hold another live town hall. The answer is most emphatically, yes,” Edwards said in a statement. “Being accessible, listening, and answering questions for the people of WNC are among my favorite activities, even if we might not always agree. That is why in my first term as a congressman, I held eight in-person town halls. I am eager to host the ninth one in Asheville.”

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