At a town hall in Des Moines, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz urged fellow Democrats to listen to public frustration with President Trump’s policies, saying officials should hear “the primal scream that’s coming from America.” Nearly 1,000 people attended the event in the district of Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, who has not held a public town hall this year.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz held a town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday, March 14, urging fellow Democrats to respond to growing public frustration with President Donald Trump’s policies. Walz, the Democrats’ 2024 vice presidential nominee, said elected officials have a duty to listen.
“There’s a responsibility in this time of chaos where elected officials need to hear what people are irritated about,” Walz said. “And I would argue that Democratic officials should hear the primal scream that’s coming from America and do something.”
Large crowd at the Des Moines town hall
Nearly 1,000 people attended the event, held in a high school auditorium in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, which is represented by Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, according to The Associated Press. The Iowa Democratic Party organized the event on short notice after Walz offered to hold town halls in Republican-held districts where members of Congress had not done so.
Walz acknowledged that Democrats do not have every answer. “If I did, we wouldn’t be in this g****** mess,” he said.
Republican leaders avoid public forums
House Speaker Mike Johnson had advised Republican members to skip in-person town halls after several events drew angry crowds, saying protests at the meetings were the work of “professional protesters.”
Nunn has not held a public town hall this year. In an emailed statement, he said: “While out-of-state Democrats hold fundraisers disguised as forums, we’re focused on real results.” He pointed to “hundreds of listening sessions” and said he was delivering the change “Iowans voted for in November.”
Voters at the event
Some attendees said they wanted to hear from their own representative. “We’d much prefer to hear from the people who represent us,” said Mike Suggett, who criticized Nunn for not appearing. Another attendee, May Dehaan, wore a shirt reading “This is not normal” and said: “We’re getting tired of being ignored.”
Walz’s tour and 2028 speculation
After Iowa, Walz planned to travel to Nebraska, where he grew up, with tentative stops to follow in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio, focusing on Midwest and Rust Belt states he did not visit during the shortened 2024 campaign. Earlier in March, he spoke to hundreds of people at the Montana Democratic Party’s annual dinner.
Walz has said he will not run for the U.S. Senate in 2026, and he is seen as a possible contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
Democrats debate their strategy
The town hall came as Democrats in Washington faced criticism from their own voters over how to respond to Trump’s rapid policy changes. That week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and several other Senate Democrats voted to advance a Republican-written government funding bill to avoid a shutdown, a move that angered many in the party who wanted a stronger fight.
Republicans criticize the visit
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and other Republican leaders in Iowa and Minnesota criticized Walz’s trip and said he should focus on his own state. Emily Tuttle, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, called the event a “manufactured production.”
Source: ABC News (AP)
