Large campaign rallies and town halls are pillars of election year politics, but two months into President Donald Trump‘s second term, town halls are erupting across the country.
While Republicans have largely been told to stay home, Democrats seem to be driving the narrative for the first time since Trump returned to the White House.
Democrats last week launched a coordinated effort to host “People’s Town Halls” in all 50 states after disruptive protests led Republican leadership to advise against hosting in-person town halls. The first week of town halls brought a new wave of political drama and engagement resembling that of an election year.
“When folks get out of the DC bubble and into communities across the country, there is one undeniably clear trend emerging: Americans are feeling betrayed by Republicans. Across party lines, people are furious that their lives, jobs, retirement, and health care are being cast aside to enrich the already ultra-wealthy. The reception to the People’s Town Halls has been thunderous — and we’re keeping them going through all 50 states. Americans want to be heard and Democrats are listening,” DNC Chair Ken Martin told Fox News Digital in a statement.
CHAOS ERUPTS AT GOP LAWMAKER’S TOWN HALL AFTER LEFT-WING GROUPS PROMOTE PROTESTS
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., rallied nearly 12,000 Arizonans in Tempe on Thursday night on the second stop of a three-state West Coast swing. Thousands of supporters have cheered on Sanders at each stop of his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. The rallies reject Trump’s executive reach and Elon Musk’s efforts to slash federal bureaucracy through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Sanders argues is wreaking havoc and turning the country into an oligarchy.
Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., the former vice presidential candidate, has been crisscrossing the country himself, targeting Republican districts where he says representatives are refusing to meet with their constituents. Walz exchanged barbs with Musk this week after he joked about regularly checking Tesla’s stock for an ego boost, which was down 41.4% year-to-date as of March amidst a string of violence against Tesla.
“Sometimes when I need a little boost, I look at the @JDVance portrait in the White House and thank the Lord,” Musk replied on X to Walz’s comment at the “The People vs Musk” event on Tuesday.
FLORIDA DEMS STAGE TOWN HALLS IN GOP DISTRICTS FEATURING ‘MISSING’ POSTERS OF THEIR COLLEAGUES
Democrats have been without a clear party leader since Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris in November 2024. While Sanders’ rallies began last month, Walz launched his own town hall-style event after Politico first reported that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) advised House Republicans against hosting in-person town halls.
Progressive protest groups last month organized disruptions at Republican-held town halls and local legislative offices, effectively shutting them down. Some lawmakers, including Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., reported safety concerns following threats of violence. Many Republicans have opted for tele-town halls as a result, citing productivity in a controlled environment.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson joined the Republican town hall deterrence, telling reporters that Republicans shouldn’t give “professional protesters” a forum to sell their soundbites and make headlines. Trump called the protesters ‘paid troublemakers’ and said it was ’all part of the game for the Democrats.’ After two months of playing defense, it seems Democrats have the ball in their court.
BERNIE SANDERS, AOC TAKE AIM AT TRUMP AND MUSK, AS WELL AS DEMOCRATS, AT WESTERN RALLIES
Like Walz, Democrats individually capitalized on the narrative that Republicans aren’t showing up for their constituents, and town halls began popping up in red districts across the country. Following their big November losses, the Democrats’ town halls have become an opportunity for lawmakers to score points with the slew of Americans infuriated with Trump’s second term and Musk’s DOGE cuts.
Last Friday, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) seized the chance to present a united front following weeks of Republican criticism that Democrats lack clear messaging during Trump’s second term.
The DNC’s coordinated effort includes the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC) and Democratic state parties to “hold vulnerable Republican members of Congress accountable for their refusal to face their constituents and answer for their votes to put billionaires above working people.”
The DNC’s initial launch included at least nine town halls in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Pennsylvania. As of Friday, there were at least 11 more town halls scheduled this weekend and next week. The DNC and Democratic state parties have held a total of 22 events so far in 13 states, the DNC tells Fox News Digital.
As Democrats’ town halls find their way to every corner of the United States, David McIntosh, president of Club for Growth, a top conservative group, is now urging Congressional Republicans to participate in town halls, Fox News confirmed.
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., was the only House GOP lawmaker whose office set up an in-person town hall this week while Congress is in recess. It ended in chaos on Tuesday night as angry Democratic protesters accused Republicans of trying to gut critical government programs. The audience questions accused Trump and Flood of not supporting the “rule of law.” The crowd repeatedly booed any mention of Musk or DOGE.
DEM LEADER SWINGS THROUGH GOP-HELD DISTRICTS AFTER ‘CLOWN SHOW PROTESTS’ HALTED TOWN HALLS
But Democrats’ town halls haven’t been without their own political theater. The Florida Democratic Party created “missing” posters of Republican representatives for their town halls. One by one in Clearwater on Saturday, Pinellas County constituents took turns addressing a “missing” poster of Rep. Ana Paulina Luna, R-Fla. Conservatives on social media slammed the “missing” posters as “nothing authentic or compelling.”
“I have never seen the national Democratic Party in such chaos and confusion. Whether it’s childish stunts on the floor of Congress or performance art with their fake town halls, there is nothing authentic or compelling about their message, their tactics, or their delivery,” Republican consultant Frank Luntz replied on X to photos from the event.
Luntz compared the Democrats’ latest move to holding posters during Trump’s joint address to Congress and the coordinated effort by protest groups to disrupt Republican town halls. Others on social media called it “embarrassing.” Luna’s spokesperson said she has been available at “numerous events” and that the Florida representative doesn’t “work for the leftist mob.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted a town hall hosted by Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., on Wednesday, when a woman yelled about U.S. support for Israel and a man jumped on stage. Police had to shut down the event and escort constituents out of the venue, CNN reported.
Voters also expressed their frustration to Democratic lawmakers that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had appeased Republicans by voting to fund their continuing resolution to keep the government open last week. Reps. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., Arizona Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., and Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., all faced backlash from their constituents at town halls on the lack of Democratic leadership in Washington, Politico reported.
