As U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler’s town hall at a local high school unraveled Sunday night—despite strict rules that some critics suggested could risk violating First Amendment protections—President Donald Trump urged Republican lawmakers to “immediately eject” constituents he called “disruptors and troublemakers.”
Congressman Lawler, a New York Republican elected during the 2022 midterms that flipped several key Democratic-held seats, presents himself as a moderate—despite voting with his party 99% of the time.
Other critics mocked Lawler for having “more rules for a town hall than a strict boarding school,” and a list “longer than the Bill of Rights.”
Some of the rules included:
Attendees must live in Lawler’s district and be prepared to show proof.
Questions, limited to 30 seconds, could only be asked when a moderator called on an attendee.
No taking of photographs or video, a questionable “rule” given the public nature of the event and First Amendment rights.
Also: No shouting, screaming, yelling, standing, bags, signs, or face coverings, and “No outside noisemakers, bullhorns, or megaphones.”
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Any violations would subject attendees—Lawler’s own constituents—to removal.
Despite the rules, Lawler’s town hall still descended into chaos. ABC7 called it a “heated town hall” that was “drowned out by boos from dissatisfied voters.” The Bloomberg News headline at local New York radio station 1010WINS read: “NYers boo and jeer GOP’s Mike Lawler at circus-like town hall.”
The 38-year old New York Republican who previously worked in state GOP politics kicked off the chaos by asking attendees to recite the pledge of allegiance, to which at least one man responded, “Authoritarian!”
He also “urged his questioners to disregard a budget blueprint he recently voted for that called for slashing $2 trillion in federal spending, potentially including to cuts to Medicaid,” The New York Times reported.
“That is as good as the paper it’s written on,” he said.
“So it went for nearly two hours as Mr. Lawler, one of the House’s most vulnerable Republicans and a potential candidate for governor of New York, faced a torrent of criticism from liberal constituents over almost everything, from Republicans’ multitrillion-dollar tax cut plan to how brightly the room was lit,” according to the Times.
One attendee asked Congressman Lawler, “What are you doing to stand in opposition to this administration, and what specifically are you doing that warrants the label ‘moderate’?”
After whoops and cheers, Lawler replied, “my record speaks for itself,” a claim that elicited loud and “mixed emotions,” according to City & State New York’s Austin Jefferson (video below).
Jefferson also reported that the event included “law enforcement attempting to get hecklers to exit the auditorium.”
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Many, including pollster turned market researcher Adam Carlson, noted that no one could claim these were “paid operatives,” given the residency rules posted days before the event: these had to be Lawler’s own constituents.
No one, that is, except President Donald Trump, who 42 minutes after Lawler’s town hall start time unleashed an angry missive.
“The Radical Left Democrats are paying a fortune to have people infiltrate the Town Halls of Republican Congressmen/women and Senators,” Trump baselessly claimed. “These Great Patriot Politicians should not treat them nicely. Have them immediately ejected from the room – They are disruptors and troublemakers.”
Implying only GOP voters are supposed to attend GOP lawmakers’ town halls, Trump appeared to not know that members of Congress represent all voters, regardless of party.
“You must allow your audience to know what you are up against, or else they will think they are Republicans, and that there is dissension in the Party. There is not, there is only LOVE and UNITY. Republicans are happy with what is taking place in our Country. We all love America!” Trump claimed.
It was not the first time Lawler’s town halls have sparked claims of “oppressive” rules. In 2023, Lawler barred reporters from attending a town hall, also at a public high school.
“Attendees were threatened with expulsion if they recorded Lawler’s exchanges with his constituents or took pictures during the event,” one attendee, a reporter who stated he was “allowed to attend as a constituent in Lawler’s 17th Congressional District, but not as a member of the press.”
Watch the video above or at this link.
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Image via Reuters