Republican Bryan Steil, congressman from Wisconsin and loyal supporter of Donald Trump, should have known better. Despite urgent warnings from party leadership to avoid holding town halls during the summer recess, he ventured in front of his voters in Elkhorn on Thursday evening - and was met by the reality of public opinion. The event ended in a storm of boos, heckling, and open calls for his resignation.
The mood shifted as soon as the topic of the recent ICE raids, carried out by masked and unidentified agents, came up. When asked by the audience why the officers were masked and without name tags, Steil attempted an evasive answer, speaking of a "moral hazard" caused by the supposedly unsecured border under President Biden - but his words were drowned out by loud jeers. When an elderly man holding a small US flag stood up and said, "I am so disappointed," voices from the audience joined in. The accusations were clear: Steil did not represent the citizens of Walworth County, but acted like an extension of Donald Trump.
The moment of ultimate humiliation came when a woman stood up, looked him straight in the face, and said, "I think you are not the right fit for us anymore." Cheers erupted, applause filled the hall. She continued, "I think it's time to go. You no longer relate to most of us, and at some point you have to know when to step down." Before Steil could respond, the hall had turned into an echo of applause and approval.
Outside, around 50 demonstrators had gathered earlier in front of the high school to protest Steil's support for Trump's budget bill - the very law that includes massive cuts to Medicaid and food assistance. According to estimates by health experts in Wisconsin, it could cause tens of thousands of people to lose their insurance coverage. The appearance in Elkhorn was meant to be a signal of closeness to the people - it became the public humiliation of a congressman who seems to have long since lost the support of his own hometown.
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Man kann nur hoffen, dass sich das im ganzen Land epidemisch verbreitet.
…noch ein weiter, weiter Weg
Ja, das ist leider zu befürchten.
Sie hätten nachdenken sollen, bevor sie ihn gewählt haben.
Der tritt nicht zurück.
Bis zu den Midterms ist es noch über ein Jahr hin. Falls es diese noch geben sollte.
Und dann wird eben doch wieder rot gewählt.
Aus Prinzip. Weil blau links, woke und zu Immigrantenfreundlich ist.
Aber trotzdem schön, dass diesem Lackaffen heftig Paroli geboten wurde