North Carolina Republican Representative Chuck Edwards faced a hostile crowd at a town hall meeting in Asheville on Thursday night, as constituents angrily confronted him over sweeping federal government cuts and his stance on President Donald Trump's policies. The event grew so contentious that security was forced to escort Edwards from the venue amid boos and shouting.
The backlash erupted when a constituent questioned Edwards about cuts to Veterans Affairs (VA) services, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd. "How do you justify cuts to staff of the VA helping veterans, especially those with long-term care needs?" the attendee asked. Edwards attempted to push back on the claim, stating, "So, first of all, there have been no cuts to the staff at VA as of this point." The crowd responded with loud jeers, as another constituent shouted, "You don't get to do this to us."
The protest came after an internal VA memo revealed the agency was preparing to lay off 80,000 employees. Edwards, however, defended the administration's decisions, adding, "Like him or not, Elon Musk has brought a lot of really smart people." His remark referring to Musk, who has been leading the Trump administration's cost-cutting initiatives through the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), drew further outrage from attendees.
At one point, as Edwards spoke about his support for the House budget resolution, he was met with chants of "traitor" and sustained boos. "And you wonder why folks don't want to do these town halls," he said, before security intervened.
The confrontational exchange was widely circulated online, with footage of Edwards being heckled amassing more than a million views on social media. One viral clip showed a veteran in the crowd shouting at Edwards, "Do your job that you were sent there to do, to represent us all... I'm a veteran, and you don't give a f*** about me." The video, shared by the Acyn X account, received more than 475,000 views.
A second clip, posted by the 'Art Candee' account, depicted the veteran being escorted out by four police officers while continuing to shout at Edwards. That video has been viewed more than 331,000 times. In another widely circulated clip, Edwards sparked further boos by asserting, "I believe the president is very supportive of Ukraine."
Trump, who has been pushing forward with federal workforce reductions across multiple agencies, has also floated the possibility of entitlement program cuts. In a Fox interview, Musk, who has become a key figure in the administration's cost-cutting strategy, stated, "The waste and fraud in entitlement spending, which is all of the... which is most of the federal spending is entitlements, so that's like the big one to eliminate."
Social Security and Medicare cuts were another major concern raised by constituents at the town hall. One attendee asked Edwards, "What are you doing to ensure the protection of our Social Security benefits?" prompting applause from the crowd. Edwards responded, "I'm not going to vote to dissolve your Social Security. I'm not looking to disrupt Social Security at all."
Demonstrators also gathered outside the event, with one protester holding a sign that read, "Elect a clown, get a circus."
Democratic North Carolina state Representative Lindsey Prather highlighted the overwhelming turnout at the town hall, stating, "At 5:30 p.m., there were 1,770 people in line at Chuck Edwards' town hall in Asheville, for a space that holds around 400. I met folks from all across the district and political spectrum who are worried about our country and who want to be heard."
