Public Backlash Intensifies Against Trump, Musk, and GOP Overreach
In red district town halls across the country and multiple national polls, Americans are demonstrating their frustration with Trump and Musk's reckless power grabs, cuts, and firings.
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The winds are beginning to shift.
After a month in Washington, the House went into recess last week. Republican lawmakers returned to their districts to face their constituents and the real-world consequences of President Trump and Elon Musk’s assault on the federal bureaucracy, reckless funding freezes, and the party’s proposed budget cuts.
In states across the country, there were packed town halls in deep red districts spanning Georgia, Wisconsin, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, and even California. Not all Republican lawmakers held town halls, but those that did faced tough questions, boos, and overall frustration about Trump and Musk’s power grabs, indiscriminate firing of federal workers, proposed cuts to key social programs, and Trump’s stance on Ukraine.
This all comes as some Trump voters who are getting fired in DOGE’s mass purge of federal workers are publicly speaking out, and multiple polls show dips in Trump and Musk’s approval.
These are early indications that the Trump Administration has massively overreached, and it’s already backfiring.
In November, I wrote an article predicting that Trump was going to overreach when in office and that instead of focusing on lowering prices, he would bring about Project 2025 authoritarianism, culture wars, and incompetence. After Trump’s first week in office, I wrote a piece discussing how Trump’s self-interested, chaotic, and divisive moves were facing legal roadblocks and revitalizing his opposition.
As expected, the Trump Administration misread their mandate, declared premature victory in the culture war, and they’re arrogantly overplaying their hand.
Now, we’re seeing the public’s response in organic demonstrations of defiance in the face of the Trump Administration’s executive overreach. So far, the most powerful responses we’ve seen to this administration aren’t coming from a singular leader - they’re coming directly from the people.
In scenes reminiscent of the 2017 town halls during the first Trump Administration and the raucous energy of Tea Party town halls in 2009 (though vastly different in values and the legitimacy of their grievances), we’re seeing a genuine populist backlash to Trump and Musk’s corrupt gutting of the federal government.
Let’s dive into these town halls and then break down the recent polling indicating a wider backlash.
Republicans Face Angry Constituents
In Georgia’s 7th district last Thursday, Republican Rep. Rich McCormick was overwhelmed by an overflow crowd that booed him and delivered speeches condemning tyranny. McCormick won in this district by 30 points, so this isn’t some liberal haven.
One woman pushed McCormick on Trump’s unilateral effort to usurp the power of the purse from Congress: “Congress controls the budget. Not the President. And you are doing us a disservice to set that down and not stand up for us…” She triggered uproarious applause.
McCormick responded. “A lot of this stuff will be litigated…” The rest of his answer was drowned out by boos.
Rep. Pete Sessions, a Republican who won Texas’ 17th district by over 30 points, faced angry constituents in a town hall on Saturday. The New York Times quoted a lawyer named Debra Norris, who spoke up during the town hall to take on Trump’s attacks on the separation of powers:
“The executive can only enforce laws passed by Congress; they cannot make laws. When are you going to wrest control back from the executive and stop hurting your constituents?”
In Oregon’s 2nd District last week, Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz faced angry voters, with one outright saying, "The House of Representatives and the Senate are totally abdicating their responsibilities…” Bentz won this district by 30 points.
Rep. Jay Obernolte, a Republican who won California’s 23rd district by 20 points, faced chants of “No more musk! Do your job!” on Saturday.
Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman, who won Wisconsin’s 6th District by over 20 points, faced boos in a town hall last Friday. Republican Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, who won Wisconsin’s 5th district by about 30 points, was met with angry constituents who demanded Musk be subpoenaed.
Republican Rep. Kevin Hern, who won Oklahoma’s 1st District by 25 points, struggled to answer questions about Trump’s executive overreach, Elon Musk, and Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine.
I spoke about these town halls in more detail in a Saturday podcast appearance with Common Power’s Executive Director Charles Douglas.
There are some signs the outrage expressed at these town halls is already having an impact on Republican lawmakers.
Rep. McCormick, whose town hall went most viral in its aftermath, told NBC News that he wants to discuss the nature of these mass firings with President Trump this week. McCormick said:
“If we have layoffs at the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], some people are going to be affected. The question is, do we give people time to adjust to their lives? And I think that’s my biggest concern, is that we’re being compassionate. Ironically, the first time I ever met Elon Musk, he was asked, ‘What could Republicans do better?’ And his response was … ‘I think you guys could come across as more compassionate.’ So I’m going to use his own words when I talk to him.”
Telling the Trump Administration to be more “compassionate” will hardly be an effective way to end these firings, but it is a sign that McComick is feeling the impact of constituent concerns.
Rep. Fitzgerald told NBC News that he would push for more transparency from DOGE. “It would be better, I think, for members to have real specific information. Because we don’t have it. I don’t have it,” Fitzgerald said. “We don’t know what they’re looking at, and we don’t know what the numbers are. … I’m learning about this when I see a broadcast as much as anyone else right now because we haven’t been briefed on it.”
Transparency is hardly the issue voters have with DOGE. It’s their reckless, indiscriminate firing of federal workers, their unilateral freezing of funds, and attempts to dismantle agencies. I spoke about the damage being done by DOGE in a Sunday appearance on NewsNation.
Reps. McCormick and Fitzgerald are hardly getting to the root of the problem.
Other Republicans have brushed aside concerns. Rep. Hern told NBC News, “I’ve not heard anyone say they don’t want to cut anything. It’s just that they don’t like Elon. That’s it. We’re moving forward with the cuts.”
If Republicans continue to do nothing to push back on DOGE’s unlawful cuts, firings, and efforts to dismantle agencies, they will surely draw more backlash. At the national level, there’s already evidence the broader public is beginning to turn against the Trump Administration and Republicans more broadly.
Polling Signals Broader Public Backlash
Most presidents experience a prolonged honeymoon period. But not President Trump. Multiple polls have indicated dips in President Trump’s approval ratings and abysmal numbers for Elon Musk.
A new Washington Post/Ipsos poll found that Trump has only a 45% approval rating, with a majority 53% disapproval. Elon Musk’s numbers are even worse, with 34% approval and 49% disapproval. A series of other polls show dips in Trump’s approval into the mid-40s.
A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that 55% of respondents said Musk had too much power in making decisions affecting the U.S.
That same Washington Post/Ipsos poll showed a stunning turn against congressional Republicans, too. When asked who should control the next Congress, 54% of respondents said the Democrats should, and only 41% said Republicans. This is a stark shift from polls just weeks ago.
Trump’s own longtime pollster, Tony Fabrizio, found similar results with a D+ 5 generic ballot poll and 66% of respondents saying that the government’s tax policy priority should be helping working-class families. An ironic 1% of respondents said the priority should be to help the highest earners.
Congressional Republicans’ new budget could worsen these poll numbers, given their budget very clearly helps the rich while harming the working class and the vulnerable.
House Republicans could include over $800 billion in Medicaid cuts to fund tax cuts for the rich. A vote of this nature would not only harm millions of Americans reliant on this program, it would also put key swing districts in play.
Politico published an analysis this week that quantified how this vote could backfire on Republicans:
A POLITICO review of enrollment in Medicaid by congressional district found that 11 Republicans in competitive seats represent larger-than-average Medicaid populations — collectively nearly 2.7 million recipients. A vote to cut the program presents a politically sensitive decision that may come back to haunt them in 2026.
If Republicans do move forward with steep Medicaid cuts and continue doing nothing to push back on Trump and Musk’s overreach, they could be signing away their House majority in 2026.
With multiple special elections occurring this year and a slim 218-215 House majority, signs of trouble are brewing for the Republican Party - trouble of their own making.
The first thing that came to mind was if some of these GOP house members were genuinely shocked at the backlash. Many seemed to be out of touch with reality before. But With all of the backlash, I’m wondering if GOP house members will opt to have more in person town halls or do tele-town halls to save face.
Thank you, Ahmed, for collating all this good news (from my point of view of course). I’m late to the party but catching up at my favorite time of day. The tide is turning? Keep on keeping on . . .