Nearly 100 days in, Donald Trump’s second term as US president has been defined by his determination to upend the established order on nearly all fronts of domestic and foreign policy, with dire consequences for global economic and cultural engagement. In the first of this series, we look at the extent to which the president’s actions have stirred up a viable opposition that includes voters from his own party.
In deep-red Iowa, long-time US Senator Chuck Grassley was met with boos and groans as frustrated constituents grilled him on US President Donald Trump’s erratic tariffs, hardline immigration policies and sweeping budget cuts last week.
“We’d like to know what you, as Congress – who are supposed to rein in this dictator – are going to do about it?” one man yelled, drawing loud applause from the packed crowd in Fort Madison’s city hall.
In Georgia, US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s town hall in her similarly solidly Republican district spiralled into chaos, with several attendees tased and arrested for shouting interruptions as she promoted Trump’s agenda.
Last month, Republican lawmakers in Texas and Kansas faced chants of “vote you out” at their town halls, while in Arizona, Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, both Democrats, were urged by constituents to “fight dirtier” and “get in the mud” with Republicans.
Scenes like these – where public anger over Trump’s policies erupts into confrontations with US lawmakers – have played out across the country in recent weeks.
