(BELLUVUE, Neb.) — While Congress is out of session this week, a House Republican encountered a hostile crowd at a heated town hall meeting in Bellevue, Nebraska, Tuesday night – a sour reception that may preview the tenor other lawmakers could face heading into the midterm elections.
Rep. Mike Flood faced repeated boos and shouts from audience members as they pressed him on the SAVE America Act, Israel, NATO, the bipartisan housing bill, the Trump administration’s policies and more, as seen on video of the town hall recorded by ABC affiliate KETV in Omaha.
While it’s uncertain how many in the audience were constituents, Tuesday’s contentious event wasn’t the first time Flood has found himself before angry crowds at town halls. Flood was shouted down and booed in Seward, Nebraska, where hundreds of people attended his town hall May 28 of last year, while defending the then-proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The month after Trump signed the bill into law, Flood faced a hostile crowd once more during an August town hall in Lincoln as the audience questioned its impact on Medicaid.
“F—— liar!” one attendee shouted at Flood Tuesday while he was discussing violent crime rates declining and the Trump administration’s ongoing deportation efforts.
“Listen, violent crime is down – ask the people of Washington, D.C., how much safer Washington is today compared to a year ago,” Flood said as the audience jeered.
“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,” Flood said.
Flood also was drowned out by the audience as he voiced his support for the proposed SAVE America Act and voter ID laws – key issues that are part of President Donald Trump’s policy agenda.
“What I can’t stand is what is so objectionable about having to show a driver’s license, a passport, or a birth certificate at your place where you vote,” Flood said, as the attendees booed.
The congressman further said that while Nebraska in his “opinion” deals with “little” election fraud, he added, “when people believe that our elections are secure, it breeds respect for the law, our democracy, our country, our election leaders. There are so many benefits.”
A man in the audience demanded the congressman explain the evidence he has to back up claims of election fraud, which Trump continues to promote without evidence to support his claims. Flood pushed back, saying he believes Joe Biden was duly elected president in the 2020 election.
”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,” Flood responded.
Constituents further heckled Flood when the congressman said, “I want to be very clear: We have no greater ally in the Middle East than Israel,” prompting loud boos from the audience.
“What happened in Israel was horrific,” Flood said, referring to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas. “If that had happened on our soil, we as Americans would rise up and eliminate that threat.”
As the conversation continued to scrutinize the Trump administration’s foreign policy, Flood also appeared to defend the administration’s actions in Iran.
“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,” he said. “I support Israel.”
While Trump attends the NATO Summit in Turkey, Flood said he fully supports the alliance, declaring it “has contributed greatly to the security of the world. I think they’re an important part of us.”
Flood received a more positive response regarding other topics, such as when he called Russian President Vladimir Putin “a thug” and voiced his support for Ukraine. He also earned some applause when he expressed confidence that the bipartisan housing bill currently on Trump’s desk will become law.
“If [Trump] doesn’t sign it, it becomes law, and the good news about this is next week it’s likely to be a public law,” he said. “That’s what I’m focusing on – bipartisan common-sense results.”
However, when Flood brought up the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes massive cuts to government benefits such as Medicaid and SNAP food assistance, the audience loudly booed. Several constituents raised concerns about losing SNAP benefits under the new law.
“I want people that are food insecure to get resources. I also want people that are able-bodied and can work to work. If you don’t work, you shouldn’t expect free healthcare,” Flood said.
Flood’s comments about Medicaid prompted one audience member to shout “tax the rich” in response.
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