White House blames 'professional protesters' for rowdy GOP town halls

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday that “professional protesters” make up the “base” of the dissenting crowds at GOP town halls across the country.

“Some people are clearly upset, but there is a bit of professional protester, manufactured base in there,” he said. “But obviously there are people who are upset, but I also think that when you look at some of these districts and some of these things, that it is not a representation of a member's district.”


Congressional Republicans, even in consistently conservative districts and states, have faced hostile crowds at town halls. Many protesters are expressing concern about losing their health insurance if the Affordable Care Act is repealed, as President Donald Trump has promised.

Spicer offered no evidence to defend his claims, which Trump has also expressed on Twitter.

The so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists. Sad! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2017

“It is a loud group, small group of people disrupting something in many cases for media attention, no offense,” Spicer said. “It's just I think that's, that necessarily, just because they're loud doesn't necessarily mean that there are many, and I think in a lot of cases that's what you're seeing.”

However, even some Republicans, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, have not been on board with the White House's claim. Grassley faced a rowdy town hall himself Tuesday, and he described the crowd as part of a representative government that includes people disappointed with the election results.

"I want to make clear: it's all legitimate," he said. "If Hillary Clinton had been elected president, there would be people from the conservative end of the spectrum might be doing the same thing."

Republicans face backlash at town halls

Vice President Mike Pence, during a speech in Missouri Wednesday, said those attending these town halls and saying they were concerned about losing insurance are “liberal activists.”

“Despite the best efforts of liberal activists, at many town halls across the country, the American people know the truth,” Pence said. “Obamacare has failed and Obamacare must go.”

Spicer added that fears over losing insurance are “a false narrative.”

“If people are truly worried about losing their coverage, they should be applauding the president's action for wanting to make sure we put a system in place that does what they were supposed to have been promised a while back,” Spicer said. “I think that's what I think is missing from this dialogue.”

Spicer said the president’s Obamacare replacement plan would be out “in the next couple weeks.”