(ELKHORN, Wis.) — In a rowdy town hall on Thursday night, Wisconsin Republican Rep. Bryan Steil was booed when he expressed support for President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
An attendee pressed Steil on Trump’s tariffs against scores of U.S. trade partners.
“I really feel that this is a terrible tax that’s going to be placed on the citizens of the Unites States. I would like to know what dire economic circumstances put Trump in a position of deploying tariffs on over 190 countries?” the attendee asked, prompting applause from the crowd. “You have allowed him to do that and it’s sad. So tell me the dire circumstances that triggered his tariff wars.”
Steil’s response prompted loud boos from participants.
“As we look at the broader tariffs back and forth with the administration, this really is, at its core needs to be, an opportunity to make sure other countries are treating the United States fairly,” the congressman said.
In the Elkorn town hall, the congressman was also pressed on other topics, including the impacts Trump’s megabill will have on Medicaid and other services.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the cuts to Medicaid included the sweeping tax and spending cut bill, which Trump signed into law on July 4, will result in 10 million Americans losing health insurance.
Responding to the event on X, Steil wrote “despite a handful of individuals attempting to disrupt the discussion, we had a great dialogue about the issues that matter most.” He committed to holding future events.
Some in the room were local protestors, ABC News affiliate WISN reported, including members of a group who last week carried a mock cardboard coffin to Steil’s home to protest Medicaid cuts.
Earlier this year, Rep. Richard Hudson, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, encouraged House Republicans to do more virtual events over in-person town halls after several House Republicans faced fiery constituents at in-person town halls.
House Democrats are being challenged at their town halls, too, facing pushback on topics such as the response to the war in Gaza. Earlier this week, Illinois Rep. Bill Foster, a Democrat, hosted a town hall event where he was repeatedly interrupted by anti-war protesters.
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