Voters boo Nebraska Republican over Musk, Ukraine, Trump tariffs during raucous town hall

Rep. Mike Flood’s (R-Neb.) town hall turned raucous Tuesday night as he fielded questions from voters about Elon Musk, President Trump’s tariffs, the White House’s posture towards Ukraine and more, with attendees booing and yelling at the congressman throughout the event.

Flood — who represents Nebraska’s first congressional district — held the town hall in Columbus, Nebraska, despite House GOP leaders advising their members to avoid in-person town halls and instead host phone and live-streamed versions. The guidance came after several GOP lawmaker town halls went viral for protests and complaints about the Trump administration, which Republicans have blamed on Democratic activists.

Flood’s town hall — which ran for more than an hour — was tense from the start, with the crowd booing parts of the congressman’s responses, yelling back at his remarks and cheering when a voter raised a complaint. At one point, an attendee held a sign that read “LIAR.”

In one of the rowdiest moments, an attendee criticized Flood for calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s conduct “disrespectful” after his tense meeting with Trump last month.

“First of all, I do want to say shame,” the attendee said. “I want to say shame for your comment, your quote that you said, ‘President Zelensky’s approach today was disrespectful to President Trump and undermines the goal of bringing peace’ and that. So shame on that.”

The comments came after Flood, in response to a previous question, said that he supported Ukraine, voted for previous aid packages and believes Kyiv should not have to give up any land to Russia, prompting claps in the crowd.

At another point, Flood was accused of doing little to help constituent concerns.

“Congressman Flood, I just heard you in the last few minutes say that you support NATO, that you will not allow cuts to Social Security, that you support Ukraine, but talk is cheap,” the individual said. “Our president, our vice president have, and Elon Musk, have caused damage, they’ve humiliated the United States, because we’ve failed them.”

“We are failing to support democracy. We have a president that openly supports Putin instead, and I have called your office over and over and I have received answers from you, and they do nothing about any of those things,” he continued. “You have done nothing. When are you going to do something?”

The room erupted in applause. Flood responded, telling the man, “Unfortunately, sir, you are wrong,” noting his previous support for Ukraine.

Flood sought to keep the town hall civil, at one point telling the crowd, “Let’s remain calm,” when shouting broke out during his response to a question about cutting Medicare.

“Let’s remain calm, let’s remain calm, let’s remain calm, and let me remind you, if you’re gonna ask me a question, let me answer the question,” he said. “If you’re gonna ask me a question, you have to let me answer the question.”

Flood is one of a few House GOP lawmakers who have held in-person town halls during this week’s recess, in addition to Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.). Flood — a co-chair of the self-proclaimed pragmatic Main Street Caucus — has represented his district since 2022, and he won re-election by more than 20 percentage points in November.

The audience at Tuesday night’s town hall grew particularly angry during conversations surrounding Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which the tech billionaire oversees. At one point, Flood said, “I support Elon Musk and DOGE,” in response to a question about Musk and potential conflicts of interest, prompting loud boos and showings of thumbs down from voters.

During another moment, an attendee pressed Flood on what he has done to push back on Musk and Trump. The woman zeroed in on reports that DOGE employees had gained access to sensitive databases at federal agencies.

“You talk about national security, yet you have done nothing to stop Elon Musk and his little band of tech geeks,” a woman said. “They went in and they had read write access to the agencies, and that is a huge national security threat.”

“The fact that you have not done anything to stand up to him, and this talk of I support Trump, I support Elon Musk, that’s not enough, okay,” she added. “We need actual action; we need actual cybersecurity experts to go in and make sure that our government is secure because Trump is in the pocket of Putin, and you are letting him continue.”

At a different point, when asked, “What are you doing to stop the activities of unelected and unconfirmed Elon Musk,” Flood responded “I know you disagree with what Mr. Musk is doing; I know you disagree with the way this is rolling out, but this is the process that we are using to find waste, fraud, and abuse,” eliciting boos and yells from attendees.

There was also significant pushback from the audience when Flood was pressed on tariffs Trump has placed — and threatened to impose — on countries, rising prices nationwide, and the drop in the stock market. As Flood argued that Trump “successfully” used tariffs during his first term, the crowd broke out in screams.

“The only way this is gonna work, folks, is if I get the opportunity to answer the question. What message are you sending to these Columbus high school students?” he said, referring to the students in the room. “I don’t think your high school civics teacher would endorse that behavior.”

“They wouldn’t endorse yours either,” someone in the crowd responded.

Shortly after, when Flood said, “There will be an adjustment period” regarding tariffs, the crowd broke out in boos.

At the beginning of Tuesday’s event, Flood explained why he decided to hold an in-person town hall — over the advice of leadership — telling attendees, “I believe that town halls are an important part of the process, it’s democracy, it’s how we communicate with each other.”

He did, however, allude to the discontent in the room.

“I know that some of you in this room are angry, I know that some of you in this room are emotional, and I know that some of you in this room are concerned. I also know there are people in this room that feel very strongly in the opposite direction, that things are going in the right direction,” Flood said. “Here’s what I want to do tonight: I want you to feel comfortable telling me what you want me to know, but when somebody else is on the microphone or when I’m interacting with somebody, let’s let these students from Columbus public schools get an education in what our democracy is all about, and that is you telling me what you think, but I need an opportunity to tell you or give you an answer, and then you can ultimately decide if you’re pleased with that or not.”

Topics

GOP lawmaker booed by crowd at North Carolina town hall

Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards was confronted by angry constituents about Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s cuts across the government at a town hall on Thursday night.
ABC News - 4d
Republican congressman faces extended boos and jeers at rowdy town hall

Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., faced a rowdy crowd at a town hall with constituents, the latest such event to go viral on social media as Republicans face backlash over President Donald Trump's mass ...
NBC News - 4d
Americans confront GOP lawmakers over federal job cuts and economy at town halls

Republicans in Congress are facing backlash at town hall events as voters voice concerns over deep federal job cuts and the state of the economy under President Trump and Elon Musk's policies. Some ...
CBS News - 4d
'SNL' taps into cynicism over Elon Musk's White House influence

Questions about tech investor Elon Musk's extraordinary influence in President Donald Trump's White House found answers that doubled as punchlines on "Saturday Night Live."
NBC News - Mar. 9
Man escorted out of NC Republican's town hall

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) faced a wave of backlash from constituents while hosting a Thursday town hall in Asheville, which he held against the advice of party leaders. One attendee, who ...
The Hill - 4d
AP reporter spars with White House over tariffs

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday clashed with a reporter with The Associated Press over President Trump’s use of tariffs after granting the outlet a rare question during a ...
The Hill - Mar. 11
Trump buys a Tesla from Elon Musk at the White House

President Donald Trump bought a Tesla from Elon Musk at the White House. Trump declared the vehicles “beautiful” and in particular praised the company’s unusually designed Cybertruck.
NBC News - Mar. 11
Trump turns the White House lawn into a Tesla showroom

President Donald Trump on Tuesday turned the South Lawn of the White House into a temporary Tesla showroom in a conspicuous favor to his adviser Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of the car company.
NBC News - Mar. 11
House Republican: Trump is 'right over the target' with EU wine tariff threat

Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) applauded President Trump’s threat to put a 200 percent tariff on wine, Champagne and other alcohol imported from the European Union (EU) if the bloc does not remove a ...
The Hill - 5d