Fox News’s Laura Ingraham scoffed at Republicans’ plan to steer clear of in-person town halls after being confronted by angry protesters.
At a private meeting Tuesday, Representative Richard Hudson, head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, advised House Republicans to hold virtual town hall meetings or Facebook live events instead so they could moderate feedback from the audience—a feeble attempt to avoid anybody who disagrees with them.
“I thought that was lame. Look, the Tea Party showed up at the Democrat town halls and we complained that we were thrown out,” Ingraham said on air Tuesday evening. “So now you’re going to say don’t show up—I say let them show up. Let’s see exactly who these people are. When you engage them in conversation … they can’t back up what they are saying with real arguments.”
In recent weeks, Republican town halls have been bombarded by angry constituents, Democratic and Republican alike, who are frustrated with Trump and Elon Musk’s chaos-inducing assault on the government.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who supports the halting of in-person town halls, tried to claim that the protesters were being paid by Democrats.
“Now I’m not saying everyone in these town halls that you’ve seen on television were not from the local area, but look, there are people who do this as a profession,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday. “They’re professional protesters. So why would we give them a forum to do that right now?”
The strategy has been slammed by Democrats, and now by Fox News. Ingraham’s take? Let them argue, paid or not.
“Let’s go … First Amendment baby.”
The post Even Fox News Is Baffled by Republican Plan to Avoid Town Halls appeared first on New Republic.
