‘Delusional man’: Donald Trump claims angry constituents at GOP town halls are ‘paid troublemakers’
In an attempt to hide his falling approval rates, Donald Trump claimed that constituents lodging complaints at Republican town halls are paid actors.
Trump is set to give his first address since returning to the White House before a joint session of Congress on March 4. He appears to be trying to generate excitement for the address with grand promises that it will be “big” and that he “will tell it like it is.” However, his approval rate is falling. FiveThirtyEight‘s approval poll has him sitting at 48.0% positive and 47.8% negative, compared to 49.7% positive and 41.5% negative in January. Hence, his net approval has dropped from 8.2% to 0.2%. The drop is to be expected as he continues to earn criticism over his attitude toward Ukraine, letting Elon Musk raid the government and attacking various government departments and aid programs. His approval is bound to take a further hit after his outburst at the Oval Office during a meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump is not coping well as he takes to claiming that those who disapprove of him are paid actors.
Donald Trump claims disgruntled constituents are actually paid actors
Many Americans don’t have to refer to the polls for evidence that Trump’s approval rating is falling. They need only look at several high-profile incidents that have occurred in GOP town halls. In towns across America, the GOP’s town halls are being met with swarms of protestors and angry constituents. Oregon’s town halls faced such unprecedented crowds that people were turned away as protestors and concerned constituents pressured Oregon’s congressional delegation to act. In towns where increasingly unpopular representatives, like Brad Finstad, are trying to avoid answering for their Trump support, protestors gathered outside their offices to demand a town hall. In Idaho, a Republican committee will likely face criminal charges after they tried to bar angry constituents from speaking and attacked a woman who didn’t obey.
Needless to say, the level of protest and constituent dissatisfaction is unprecedented. It has gotten to the point that even RNC officials acknowledged the incidents and have floated scaling back on town halls. The only person still refusing to recognize the apparent disapproval is Trump. Still determined to claim he’s the most popular and approved president, he took to Truth Social with a conspiracy theory. According to him, the mass congregations of protestors converging on town halls or outside representatives’ offices are all paid actors funded by the Democratic party. He wrote, “Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings. 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!”
One will notice that Trump also couldn’t resist touting his favorite lie: that he won by a “landslide.” He won by the tiniest margin that no rational person would define as even remotely close to a landslide. Additionally, claiming that protestors are paid actors is absurd. Does Trump really expect Americans to believe the massive, unprecedented swarms of protestors flooding town halls across the nation are paid actors? There’s a much simpler explanation, which is that he’s pushing wildly unpopular policies, and his approval rating is dropping. On X, Art Candee wrote, “Delusion man pushing the narrative that ‘paid troublemakers’ are attending Republican town halls. Bro cannot handle how deeply unpopular his policies have been.”
Trump’s conspiracy theory is just another indication that he is not coping well and is starting to spiral now that he can’t deny Americans don’t like him. If the protests are this intense just five weeks into his presidency, he better buckle up because they’re only likely to worsen, especially when he tanks the economy with his tariffs. He can cry “landslide” and “paid actors” all he wants, but the facts don’t lie.
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