Since Trump’s second inauguration, videos of voters shouting at Republican members of Congress during town halls have been making headlines and going viral on social media. Earlier this month, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, advised Republican representatives to stop holding town halls, claiming that the issue was “professional protestors.”
At least one member of Alabama’s Congressional delegation is heeding Johnson’s advice. On a recent radio show, Alabama Congressman Gary Palmer agreed with the host’s characterization that these protestors are “a bunch of malcontents.”
“I tell people I do a town hall every Sunday between worship and Sunday school,” Palmer quipped. “I get stopped in the hall. But no, I’m not going to do one of these because it’s exactly as you described. These are not constituents, most of them. They bring in paid agitators.”
He also disparaged the utility of one town hall he held during the first Trump term, saying that there were “license plates from New Jersey, Kansas, Illinois” and “three people that I recognized.” A better alternative, Palmer suggested, would be rallies in the style of the Tea Party meant mainly to appeal to his base.
But despite Palmer’s suggestive comments about license plates and the number of people he didn’t recognize at that 2017 town hall, the Congressman actually stated at the time that the people who showed up were not paid protestors.
A plurality of the recent comments on Palmer’s official Facebook page have been left by people who say they are District 6 residents and are demanding the Congressman hold a town hall.
“Town hall???? Naw, just want to keep the constituents at arms length. Sure don’t want to hear about the mess Trump is making,” one man complained. Another asked why Palmer is “so scared to have a town hall” and claimed the Congressman has been sneaking into town for photo ops.
These calls for town halls aren’t limited to Palmer’s social media pages. On one post to the Facebook page of Congressman Dale Strong, R-Ala., about meeting a Decatur resident who was a guest at Trump’s recent joint address to Congress, someone commented, “What about the rest of your constituents, Dale? When will you be meeting with us?”
Satirical posters from social media calling on Reps. Dale Strong and Mike Rogers to hold town halls.
Reporter Brian Lawson with northern Alabama news channel WHNT found that several people represented by Strong had received communications about a forthcoming telephone town hall but remained unaware of when it would actually be held. Republican members of Congress outside of Alabama have also opted to hold telephone town halls rather than in-district ones in recent months.
Use of town halls as a venue to protest the policies of the party in power is a frequent feature of politics in recent decades. Notably, protests at Democratic town halls were one of the hallmarks of the Tea Party movement Palmer hearkened back to during his radio interview.
And in 2017, then-Congressman Mo Brooks, R-Ala., opined that the Affordable Care Act would not be repealed because there was a “significant number of congressmen who are being impacted by these kinds of [town hall] protests and their spine is a little bit weak.” The repeal eventually failed due to a last minute reversal by Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, not members of the House scared of town hall protests.
Despite Brooks’ likely overstating of these protests’ importance, liberal politicians and organizations have continued to call for Republicans to hold more town halls in the last couple weeks.
Minnesota governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz, just kicked off a series of rallies that will be held in districts where Republican members of Congress aren’t holding in person town halls.
“These folks need to be heard,” Walz told CNN. “They need to be heard, and to be candid with you, Democratic leadership needs to hear them.”
In Alabama, the Huntsville chapter of the liberal group, Indivisible, shared a seemingly satirical flyer inviting Rep. Strong to a “town hall meeting,” explaining to commenters that the event is meant to draw attention to how Huntsville is “not represented at all” in Congress.
As one of two Democrats representing Alabama in Congress, Representative Terri Sewell told APR that “we as elected officials cannot represent our constituents if we are unwilling to listen to them.”
“What I am hearing is that Alabamians are frightened,” Sewell stated. “They see this Administration coming after their health care, Social Security, and so many other vital programs. Now more than ever, we as Members of Congress need to listen to their concerns, bring them back to Washington, and take action accordingly.”
The offices of Reps. Palmer, Strong and Aderholt did not respond to APR’s requests for comment.
