GOP lawmaker defends Trump tax bill to angry crowds at back-to-back town halls

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An Iowa congresswoman touted her support for President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill in back-to-back town halls on Wednesday, even as members of the audience jeered and disrupted her speech.

"They were booing when I was saying, you know, 'We're preserving tax cuts,' and I can't believe people would boo tax cuts for themselves," Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

"I think there are a number of people who just show up to these town halls who want to disrupt. They didn't care what I had to say. They just want to boo and yell and be angry."

And there were a significant number of such people at both her town halls in Elkader and Decorah on Wednesday. 

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At both events, Hinson touted her support for Trump and House Republicans' budget reconciliation bill and promoted the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) efforts.

Both issues drew largely negative reactions from people there, save for some exceptions.

At one point in the first town hall, a woman named Linda stood on behalf of another woman, Nicole, who was in a wheelchair and had "difficulty speaking." Nicole, who relied on federal health and food programs, was concerned about any cuts to those programs making her life more difficult, Linda said.

The crowd then cheered as Hinson pledged that Republicans were only reforming those programs, "so that people like you can continue to have access to the treatments and medications you need."

The goodwill was short-lived, however, when the next questioner accused Republicans of cutting university funding in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy - despite Hinson pointing out the bill does not change income tax brackets.

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"It's an absolute crime," the man shouted.

The boos grew louder when Hinson accused top universities of "letting men play in girls' sports." People in the crowd could be heard screaming "stop it" and "stop spinning."

At her second town hall, the crowd jeered as Hinson emphasized her support for Trump.

"The president is, I believe, fighting for you and fighting for me. I'm fighting alongside of him. I think God saved President Trump's life in Butler," Hinson said before briefly pausing as the boos swelled.

"I think He saved his life in Butler, Pennsylvania for a reason. I think he is helping us to save this country," she continued.

Hinson was still unfazed by the protesters when she spoke with Fox News Digital the next day.

"I did exactly what I said I was going to do," Hinson said. "I feel good about what I was able to communicate and correct the record yesterday. And I will not only defend this agenda and answer any questions any day, any time of the week, but I think it is really important that I'm out there on offense, correcting the record."

The congresswoman said the disruptions grew so loud that it prompted a Vietnam War veteran to address her after one of the events and tell her, "I couldn't hear over all that, and I think that's a shame because I wanted to hear what you had to say."

"That's really the disservice. Again, these people who their only intent is to disrupt, someone like that man who served our country, who wanted to come hear what I had to say, had trouble hearing me," Hinson said. "People there want to be able to have civil discourse and ask the questions and hear my answers."