Yet another Republican lawmaker was drowned out by boos and jeers—not to mention repeatedly being called a “liar” and even an “a—hole”—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 night 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.
“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.
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 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.”
“Bulls— 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.
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.
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, added 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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