Republican Senator Roger Marshall fled a rowdy rural Kansas town hall meeting early after he was confronted by angry voters who raged against DOGE cuts and the U.S. stance on ending the conflict in Ukraine.
The legislator reportedly walked out 20 minutes early, after labelling the audience in Oakley, Kansas, “rude.” “You know, this is one of the rudest audiences I’ve ever had,” a viral clip shows Marshall saying, as the crowd cheers sarcastically. He pulled the plug soon after when grilled about cuts affecting veterans.
Marshall took to X on Monday and shared a message from President Donald Trump, suggesting the Saturday event was sabotaged by “paid troublemakers.”
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Colin McRoberts, who drove five hours to be at the town hall, said that Marshall appeared shocked by the amount of people who showed up, with seats laid out for around 20-30 people. The meeting had to be moved to a larger space inside the local hospital when double that figure attended, according to KCUR in Kansas City.
McRoberts said the comment that “sent him out of the room,” was from a gentleman who said “I’m not a Democrat, I’m just worried about the veterans, man.”
Jeers and boos rang out as Marshall glibly said “God bless America” and bolted for the door, stating that he had “two more commitments today.”
“You’re not done!” one person could be heard shouting. “No, wait!” said another.
“It was a surprise to everyone, to the point where no one really knew what was happening until he was out of the room and somebody started to yell ‘why are you leaving? Where are you going? You got 20 minutes left.’ It was a very quick exit,” McRoberts told CNN.
Many present at the event were concerned about federal job cuts led by the Department of Government Efficiency, apparently spearheaded by Elon Musk, despite the government’s suggestion that he’s not involved. The war in Ukraine and rural healthcare access were also on the agenda.
“Most Americans want there to be a swift peace to this situation. Personally, I think we’ve done enough to help foreign conflicts,” Marshall said in relation to Ukraine.
He then backed the DOGE cuts, adding: “Seventy percent of Americans want us to get rid of fraud, waste and abuse.”
Many people carried signs and posters. “I won’t be civil when you come for our rights,” one read. Another said: “D.O.G.E Dangerous Oligarchs Grab Everything.”
“OMG GOP WTF?” read another. A fourth, written over an upturned U.S. flag, stated: “We the people are in extreme distress.”
Rodney Bates, a board member at a local nursing home, said “all people wanted to do was scream at the senator.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the senator claimed the meeting was ambushed by “Democrat operatives.”
“Democrat operatives that couldn’t place Oakley, Kansas on a map before today sabotaged a local town hall—even still, Senator Marshall stayed and answered every question that was asked for 45 minutes," Brent Robertson, the lawmaker’s chief of staff, said in a statement.
Oakley is in Logan County, which voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, with 85 percent support.
Trump took to Truth Social early Monday to claim that “troublemakers” are being paid to attend Republican meetings. His message comes after anti-Trump resistance group Indivisible urged supporters to flood the meetings and protest outside Tesla dealerships.
“Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings,” Trump said. “It is all part of the game for the Democrats, but just like our big LANDSLIDE ELECTION, it’s not going to work for them!”
Marshall shared the message on Elon Musk’s X, adding: “Can confirm.”
