Republicans charge into resistance at tumultuous town halls
— The Republican lawmakers stood with fixed smiles, shifting in place, facing down turmoil but no trial inside a municipal courtroom overstuffed with constituents.
Across the room, the first questioner foretold a long Saturday morning: “Are you personally proud,” the man, Ernest Fava, 54, said of President Donald Trump, “to have this person representing our country?” The more than 200 attendees stirred, with at least as many waiting outside.
Sen. Tim Scott tried first: “Given the two choices I had, I am thankful that Trump is our president,” he said, to ferocious boos.
Then Rep. Mark Sanford waded in: “I think we’re all struggling with it,” he said of the tumultuous first month, to nods.
As members of Congress return home during a legislative recess, a hearty few Saturday charged headlong into the resistance. At events across the country, lawmakers have strained to quell the boiling anger at Mr. Trump — and often, the Republican Party — after four weeks.
The break from Capitol Hill is doubling as a stress test for both pro-Trump Republicans and anti-Trump protesters — an early signal of how much latitude will be afforded to members who continue defending the president and how much venom they are willing to absorb.
Constituent descriptions of Mr. Trump were rarely kind: “huge red elephant octopus,” orangehued “Nixon” reincarnate, and “drunk driver” at the American wheel.
For the lawmakers, early returns were mixed. In North Harmony, N.Y., Rep. Tom Reed confronted jeers, navigating questions about abortion rights, efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and Mr. Trump’s tax returns. The crowd at a senior center was so large that the event was moved to the parking lot outside. Chants of “Do your job!” rang out.
In an interview afterward, Mr. Reed suggested he appreciated the feedback, to a point. “I’m a human being,” he said. “Obviously, you have a human response to it.”
In South Carolina, the twin billing of Mr. Sanford and Mr. Scott allowed for a live comparison in how to handle Trump queries. The town hall-style event was organized by Mr. Sanford’s office in conjunction with Indivisible Charleston, the local chapter of a national organization founded on the stated goal of “resisting the Trump agenda.”
The result was a tough room, particularly for Mr. Scott, a late addition to the gathering and a Republican less willing to criticize Mr. Trump.
Republicans weren’t the only ones who arrived home this weekend to Trump critics jamming town-hall meetings.
Freshman Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., held an impromptu questionand-answer session at the Land & Sea diner in Fair Lawn, N.J., on Sunday. Some at the diner said the congressman’s early actions on Capitol Hill left them concerned that the Democrat would not be an effective bulwark against the president.