Watch: North Carolina town hall sees heated exchange between crowd and Rep. Chuck Edward over Trump policies
US Rep. Chuck Edwards faced a hostile crowd at his Thursday town hall in Asheville, North Carolina.
At one point he attempted to address questions about President Donald Trump’s trade policies. “Let me answer and then if you don’t like it, you can boo or hiss or whatever you’d like to do,” Edwards said, appearing tired.
The crowd erupted in outrage within moments of his explanation regarding Trump’s tariff strategy. He persisted with his response, concluding by telling attendees that he would “stop there and you can yell,” which they promptly did.
The congressman encountered continuous jeers and harsh questions about Trump administration policies for approximately 90 minutes. The venue, a college auditorium, held 300 people inside, while over a thousand protesters outside made their presence known throughout.
The atmosphere deteriorated within the first half-hour as attendees repeatedly interrupted Edwards with hostile outbursts. Asheville stands as a Democratic stronghold in North Carolina’s predominantly Republican mountain region. North Carolina supported Trump in the 2024 election.
“And you wonder why folks don’t want to do these town halls,” Edwards remarked amid the shouting.
Edwards began by discussing Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in western North Carolina. The storm claimed over 100 lives and caused £59.6 billion in damages, according to state records.
When Edwards highlighted the Trump administration’s recovery initiatives, including a proposal to eliminate FEMA, attendees demanded immediate answers to their questions. Security removed one person for using offensive language towards the congressman, who claimed to be a veteran and accused the representative for ‘not caring about him’. “You have nothing to say but lies,” the man yelled, as his audience cheered. “You’re lying. I’m a veteran, you don’t give a f*** about me,” he further claimed.
“You don’t get to take away our rights,” the man was heard yelling as security guards approached to escort him out.
Edwards also took time to defend Elon Musk and his work. When questioned about Musk and DOGE “having reading writing, privileges with the treasury Department’s database,” the rep claimed, “If the name of the person that was running that agency was anything more than Elon Musk you probably wouldn’t be as angered. about it. Uh, because the reality. is even before. President Trump was elected. There were people working inside these agencies that had access that were required access.”
Prompting another round of groans and protest from the crowd, he added, “You should also know that those employees and folks that serve with DOGE have gone through the same exact security screens, s everyone else. Some somebody’s gonna be in charge of looking at those. guys name, just happens to be Elon Musk right now.”
The congressman also addressed questions about government agency reductions under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, healthcare programmes, Veterans Affairs job cuts, and US support for Ukraine against Russia. Most attendees stood and applauded these questions.
Edwards maintained support for Trump administration policies whilst acknowledging the need to consider constituent feedback for potential improvements.
Despite the contentious atmosphere, Edwards remained composed, expressing appreciation for the crowd’s “passion” and “patriotism.”
“I take away from what I heard today that we’re doing exactly what the American people sent us to Washington DC. to do,” Edwards said, as protesters knocked on nearby doors.
This town hall was held despite House Speaker Mike Johnson’s advice to Republican representatives to avoid it due to “professional protesters”. Edwards stated he wanted to maintain dialogue with western North Carolina residents, regardless of disagreements.
