Republican Gets Booed in Furious Town Hall Trainwreck: ‘F*** You!’
Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California had a tough time selling Donald Trump’s domestic agenda to voters back home.
Yet another Republican lawmaker was drowned out by boos and jeers—not to mention repeatedly being called a “liar” and even an “a-----e”—after he tried to sell President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda at an in-person town hall meeting.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California was hammered on Monday over Trump’s “Big Beautiful” budget bill, the administration’s devastating tariff policy, and his party’s failure to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.
It was the first time LaMalfa—who represents a large swath of rural Northern California—had held an in-person forum in almost eight years, according to Cal Matters.
Several audience members called him out for repeatedly trying to blame Democrats for Republicans’ unpopular moves, including the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein scandal.
One audience member pointed out that polling shows even Republicans disagree with the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein scandal. The president and the convicted sex offender were friends for more than a decade.
Davidoff Studios/Getty Images
“You all left,” one woman shot back. “The speaker of the House released you guys so you didn’t have to deal with releasing the files.”
Others ripped into him for backing cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Medicaid, and public media.
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The town hall came despite party leadership encouraging Republicans not to hold in-person events with voters.
Other representatives who have bucked leadership’s advice to try to sell Trump’s agenda have faced anger and ridicule, and given answers that were so bad they inadvertently penned new political slogans for Democrats.
Responding to a question from a veteran who has struggled to get VA treatment for PTSD since Trump took office, LaMalfa said, “VA funding is not being cut.”
Another voter demanded an apology for Northern California farmers, who are suffering under President Trump's tariff policy.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“Bulls--t man,” someone protested, while others called LaMalfa a “liar.”
As LaMalfa tried to claim that recent VA reforms target “bad apples” and seek to impose “accountability,” the man who asked the question said his VA care was working “just fine” before. He then got up and walked out, saying, “I don’t appreciate that man.”
On the topic of Medicaid, LaMalfa said, “This bill is not going to be the be-all, end-all on the whole Medicaid question. It’s not the end of the discussion.” He then claimed the cuts targeted “illegal immigrants.”
“Liar!” one man shouted again.
The bill cut more than $1.1 trillion from Medicaid, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act plans, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will result in about 10 million losing their health insurance.
Republican members of Congress have had a tough time selling the president's budget bill during town hall meetings. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa resorted to telling her constituents, "We are all going to die."
Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Other voters were furious at LaMalfa—who sits on the House Agriculture Committee and chairs the subcommittee on forestry and horticulture—for supporting Trump’s tariffs, which according to Bloomberg, are raising the cost of everything from tractors to fertilizers, and squeezing already stressed profit margins.
“If you’re not here to either offer your resignation, why aren’t you here to apologize to the farmers of the North State because of your support for the Trump tariffs?” a man from Chico asked LaMalfa.
More than 650 people had packed the local Elks Lodge in Chico to ask questions and share comments about Trump’s wildly unpopular domestic policies, according to Cal Matters.
The audience took LaMalfa to task for supporting the president even after the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, and for letting masked federal immigration agents “kidnap” people off the streets without arrest warrants.
“We are not headed towards authoritarian fascist government. We are already there,” one constituent said to loud cheers and applause.
A voter asked Rep. LaMalfa how he could still support President Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and asked him seriously if he needed help disentangling himself from the MAGA movement.
Anadolu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
One audience member asked LaMalfa in all seriousness if he was scared of Trump’s violent supporters.
“If you need help pulling away from everything that’s going on, please, we want to help you,” the man said, adding that he was serious even though it sounded like a joke.
Others were less understanding.
“We have a question on this side?” a moderator asked at one point.
“F--- you!” a man yelled back.
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