Nebraska Town Hall Erupts Over Trump's Agenda

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1:13Whole Foods Market Summer Fruit Fest is your invitation to eat the season. Fresh, organic, and bursting with flavor. Start your day with peaches and organic blueberries and yogurt. Build a grazing board with fresh fruit, prosciutto, and artisanal cheese. Then fire up the grill with no antibiotics ever proteins and fresh produce. Savor the season. Shop Summer Fruit Fest at Whole Foods Market. When are you going to call up President Trump before he bankrupts this country?

1:46Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump was getting loudly booed in Nebraska during a town hall. MAGA Republican Congress member Mike Flood at least showed up for a town hall. He's the Congress member from Nebraska's first congressional district. He showed up for a town hall and his constituents were pissed. They were pissed at Donald Trump taking a Qatari jet. They were pissed at Donald Trump covering up a child sex trafficking ring. They were pissed at Donald Trump cutting SNAP benefits, taking away people's health care. Oh, they were livid at the disastrous bill that Mike Flood was like, oh, don't we all love the big, beautiful bill?

2:31Ben Meiselas:And everybody was like, no. Do you realize how much that is torturing us? And his constituents share these heartfelt stories about how people in their families were literally dying because they've lost their health care and their lives have been ruined by the so-called big, beautiful bill, which is really the deadly bill, and Donald Trump and MAGA policies. Folks, this was a compelling town hall. I watched the full thing and I got you some of the, I think, most significant clips right here that I want to share with you. The first thing I want to share with you, just so you can see the passion of some of the people right here.

3:12Ben Meiselas:Take a watch for yourself as you can hear just how angry people were. Play this clip. When are you going to call up President Trump before he bankrupts this country?

3:29Ben Meiselas:Okay, then the question started coming in about the Epstein files. And Mike flood, how could you be okay with a literal cover-up of a child sex trafficking ring that Donald Trump is engaged in? Here, play this clip.

4:05the Epstein file, very powerful friends, he said, would be hurt. And Trump's name is in it more than anyone else. These victims have waited 30 years for this government to do something. So why did you and none of your fellow GOP attend the survivors hearing to listen to their testimony? And why do you continue to protect the pedophiles and Trump's DOJ as they continue to break the law?

4:33Well, first of all, you should know that any victim that has wanted to get in and talk to me about an issue related to the Epstein files has an open door. Number one. Number two, I voted to release the Epstein files. Number three, I, you know, you say that you know what's in the Epstein files. I know what's been unredacted to the extent it's been reported. I can tell you a number of colleagues in my own party and others on the Judiciary Committee are dealing with this. I'm on the Financial Services Committee, so we don't deal with this issue directly. But listen, the Congress passed a law unanimously.

5:18The senators passed it with unanimous consent. We had, I think, 430-some votes in the House. The president signed it. It is the law of the land. Very good.

5:34Ben Meiselas:Next question.

5:56Ben Meiselas:outcomes of these elections. Well, then the people in the crowd were like, because it's people like you and Donald Trump who keep on lying and spreading disinformation about the 2020 election, about mail-in votes, saying that illegal immigrants votes and using that pejorative term to refer to migrants who are here, most of whom are working hard and paying taxes and who are here living productive lives before ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo destroy their lives. Here, play this clip. The Republicans own the White House, the Senate and Congress. Where is the election fraud? And I want you to tell all these people, all the great people of Nebraska, right here, right now, what evidence you have that there was fraud in the elections.

6:48Ben Meiselas:Before you go to that, can you tell me your name and where you're from? We needed to start there. Bank, Omaha. Okay. Next question, sir. We only got an hour. When are you going to call up President Trump before he bankrupts this country? Thank you.

7:16Well, as to the first question, from the day I became a candidate for this office in January of 2022, I have never said anything but the following. Joe Biden was duly elected president in the election that he won in 2020. I have never argued that there was an inaccurate result. And I always recognized Joe Biden was our president. So I am not a congressman that has ever made that claim. And I do know this. I do know this, sir. So here's what I do know. I do know that there are a lot of Americans. There are a lot of Americans that don't trust our election system. And I don't think it's too much to ask to show an ID when you vote.

8:21I supported voter ID when it was on the ballot box. I don't think it's too much to ask people to show their ID when they vote. And I think that is at the core of what we want. We want a nation where we can respect the results of the election. All right. Next question.

8:44Ben Meiselas:When the people were livid about the disastrous budget bill, the one big beautiful bill, you can hear the loud boos against Mike Flood as he starts to brag about the bill. Here, play this clip. This is, what are you doing to do for benefits for all people with disabilities? Well, under the one big beautiful bill, we protected a system that if it had gone unchecked, it would not have been long-term available for the very people that are the most vulnerable, the developmentally disabled, the persistent mentally ill, people that are of advanced age. We protected Medicaid in a bipartisan, common sense way.

9:37That was the result.

9:41Ben Meiselas:And then there were a lot of questions about Mike Flood and the Republicans proudly talking about their wealthy billionaire donors, their APAC donors, their Epstein class donors. and Mike Flood's like, I love my Israel donors. I love my Netanyahu donors. And then the crowd just booed him incessantly. Here play this clip. I think you need to read the room. There's not a lot of love for the big, beautiful Bill in this room. And you don't represent me, the average American. I'm having trouble hearing him. I'm having trouble hearing him. You don't represent me, the average American. you represent rich donors in APAC.

10:26The one big, beautiful bill cut$4.5 trillion in taxes to corporations and the wealthy. And guess what those corporations do with those tax cuts? They buy back stocks and fire their employees so they can spike their stock prices. That doesn't help me, the average American. That helps the big oil companies. So maybe instead of watching out for somebody that's on Snap, maybe they want to buy a Coke. Maybe instead you look at the big oil companies and you stop them from buying.

11:04First of all, great respect everybody that has come here tonight. But I also know that I work for the whole district. I work for all 700 ,000 people that live in the first congressional district. And with all due respect, sir, there's a lot of people that appreciate the no tax on tips, the no tax on Social Security, and the no tax on overtime. There are a lot of people that appreciate the increase in the low income affordable tax credits to build more affordable housing in places like Lincoln and Fremont and Bellevue and Columbus. There are a lot of people that appreciate the ability to transition the farm from one generation to the next with the permanent$15 million cap that we have in the federal estate tax.

11:52There's a lot of things in that bill that make common sense that a lot of people, both Republicans and Democrats, appreciate. I'm sorry you aren't as fond of it. But I know that a lot of people I work for that may be watching this tonight are very thankful for it. Let me tell you something. You talked about AIPAC. I want to be very clear. We have no greater ally in the Middle East than Israel.

12:23We have no greater ally than Israel. And I will tell you, I was there shortly after the animals from Hamas attacked the innocent civilians in the kibbutz in southern Israel. Ladies and gentlemen, they massacred babies. They burned them in ovens. They shot children in front of their parents. they raped women and children. What happened in Israel was horrific. If that had happened on our soil, we as Americans would rise up and eliminate that threat. And that's exactly what the Israelis have done. Today, because of our partnership with the Israeli government, there's not much left of Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, we are cleaning up the Middle East.

13:31We are cleaning up the Middle East.

13:36And I am not going to stand here and say anything other than Iran for 50 years has vowed death to America. If they got their hands on a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb, they would use it on us. We need to finish the job. We cannot put up with a regime that in the last 12 months has killed 45 ,000 of their own people. That is wrong. We have to have moral clarity here. I support Israel. Okay.

14:12Ben Meiselas:Here was a question that touched my heart. You know, one of his constituents are like, You're killing people in my family. You're killing us. We can't afford healthcare, so we're not able to see the doctor. So there are people in my family who are dying because they can't even afford a checkup right now. Mike Flood and you despicable MAGAs. Here, play this clip. I've got family and friends that are dying. I've had a couple of funerals just in the past couple of weeks. I've got another death in the family this week. They're dying. They have high medical costs, as do I. Just so far this year, I've racked up almost$8 ,000 out of pocket.

14:56You continue to approve dollars to Trump's scams and the big ugly bill. It takes away from constituents health care, and they die early. My little sister died at 46 with liver cancer because she did not have insurance. Why do you continue to help the rich get richer while your constituents, who I am too, whether I'm a Democrat, Republican or Independent, you need to help us constituents so that we can afford food, housing.

15:33First of all, I'm sorry to hear about your family. I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I don't want anybody to die. I, in fact, want just the opposite. Last year, I'm very proud to say that I supported getting the state almost a billion dollars of more money that will go to Nebraska hospitals. I checked the numbers before I came here tonight. Bellevue Medical Center through UNMC will get an additional$11 million this year, not tied to any fees for service. that's on top of their reimbursements under their private and their public pay, $11 million more to help them balance the books. St. Elizabeth's, I think it's something like$28 million.

16:20Faith Regional in Norfolk,$12 million. Columbus Hospital, this is around$10 million. West Point Hospital,$3.5 million. This is the largest influx of cash coming into Nebraska hospitals in 20 years. Secondly, as Main Street Caucus Chairman, I personally worked with the White House and the members of the Senate and our delegation to get a$50 billion rural health care transformation fund set up that will send$218 million. Do we have work to do? Yes. Let me tell you some areas that I think we need to really focus on. Dialysis. Did you know that the dialysis unit in Columbus, Nebraska is not operating?

17:05They can't find nurses. Shadron, same thing. We need to get that fixed. I share this with you because I'm attuned to what a lot of the needs are in this district, and I'm worried about access to dialysis for those kidney patients that need it. Very good.

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19:24Ben Meiselas:More over here, questions about Donald Trump's behavior. How could you be okay with Trump's behavior like this? Are you okay with that? Here, play this clip. First of all, when you mentioned Israel and Hamas and the the terrible act by Hamas, you failed to mention the war crimes that Israel did in Gaza. And Netanyahu is up for war crimes, just so we know that. In President Trump's July 4th speech at Mount Rushmore, he stated, Democrats are godless communists. Trump has also called Democrats human garbage, the enemy within, and traitorous. I want to know, do you agree with any of these statements made by Donald Trump?

20:07and you pledge to us you will stand up and speak up when President Trump does something or says something that is harmful to our country or to our fellow Americans and that you put country above your party and your... Sir, at my last town hall, I made it very clear. at the last town hall, it's when they were discussing having this fund for victims of political harassment by federal law enforcement. And I said very clearly, as the first member of the House Republicans, that I didn't want one penny of any fund going to anybody that was a January 6th insurrectionist. Not one penny. And when I see something that I disagree with, I am vocal about it.

20:57To your point about July 4th, I did not listen to the president's remarks because I was at North Fork, Nebraska, raising a huge flag 122 feet up in the air, celebrating men and women that have died in service of their country right before I watched a huge fireworks display.

21:21Ben Meiselas:More questions about ICE and Border Patrol, Gestapo, killing people, torturing people on the streets, throwing people in concentration camps that are being opened up in the United States. Here, play this clip. You've made a big deal about this, about this administration making us all safer, but I have never felt more unsafe in this country than I have in the last 18 months. We now have jack-footed thugs on our streets acting outside of the law without standardized uniforms, wearing masks who won't identify themselves, who do not present judicial warrants, pulling people off the street. And we can't even identify whether or not they're actually federal agents because they drive around in civilian vehicles.

22:03They act outside the law. You are putting everyone in this country, including our uniformed officers who are acting within the law, in mortal danger. So my question to you is, how do we as citizens, if you will not uphold the law, defend ourselves? Do you uphold our right to use the Second Amendment to defend ourselves if they do not identify ourselves? I do support your Second Amendment right. Listen, violent crime is down. Ask the people of Washington, D.C. how much safer Washington, D.C. is today compared to a year ago. violent crime is down in american cities violent crime is down in new york city a lot of people that came here that were committing crimes have either been incarcerated or deported the numbers speak for themselves

22:58Ben Meiselas:okay will then uh mike flood tried to be like well you know there's a major problem with immigrants voting? And people are like, what are you talking about? People have to be lawfully here to vote. What do you mean immigrants voting? Why are you lying? Why are you lying, man? Why can't y 'all just be freaking normal? There are so many issues that we need to be dealing with, and all you want to do is lie and attack immigrants. It's heinous. Here, play this clip. There are so many benefits from having trust in the process.

23:37Listen, we live in a state that has seen, in my opinion, very little election fraud. There are states in the nation where illegal immigrants are encouraged to vote.

23:56There are states in this nation where people who are illegal are voting. In the state of California, they are still counting votes three or four weeks after the election. That is really a problem. But here's the deal. what I would love to do