Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) said Wednesday he’s holding a town hall despite House Republicans being recently pushed to avoid in-person town halls and do phone or livestreamed ones instead.
“I’m having a town hall next week, right there in Asheville, North Carolina, first of all, because my constituents have asked for it,” Edwards told NewsNation’s Blake Burman on “The Hill.”
“I … I trust my constituents, even those that I might not agree with. But more than that, I’m proud of what Republicans are accomplishing right now, and I want the opportunity to talk about that,” he added.
Earlier this week, Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) told House Republicans during a closed-door conference meeting that they should go for tele-town halls or livestreamed events that can reach more people versus in-person town halls that can be taken over by Democratic activists.
Republican lawmakers have recently dealt with angry crowds at town hall events, notably on the effort by the Trump administration to cut thousands of government jobs.
On Monday, President Trump attributed the town hall backlash to “paid ‘troublemakers’” on his Truth Social platform.
“Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings. It is all part of the game for the Democrats, but just like our big LANDSLIDE ELECTION, it’s not going to work for them!” Trump said on social media.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also claimed last week that demonstrators at the recent town halls were “paid” by Democrats.
“The videos you saw of the town halls were for paid protesters in many of those places,” Johnson told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins at the time. “These are Democrats who went to the events early and filled up the seats.”
