Sen. Roger Marshall is going viral for abruptly ending tense town hall in small-town Kansas
Sen. Roger Marshall abruptly ended a tense town hall on Saturday in far western Kansas after a frustrated audience repeatedly pressed the Republican over actions by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.
Video of the final minutes of the event circulated widely on social media. The footage showed Marshall quickly ending the event after a man wearing a white shirt and beige ballcap stood up and spoke directly to Marshall. The senator had been answering written questions.
“This is one of the rudest audiences I’ve ever had,” Marshall said before the man started speaking.
The Star reviewed a video of the entire event, which lasted about 40 minutes. Several dozen people packed into a meeting room in Oakley, a town of about 2,000 along Interstate 70, though some individuals traveled from elsewhere in the state.
Marshall’s town hall on Saturday morning came as Kansas Republicans had gathered in Goodland, near the Colorado border, for a state committee meeting.
While Marshall at times spoke at length with few interruptions, at other moments, he was repeatedly questioned by audience members who expressed exasperation with some of his statements.
Defending the work of Musk, the world’s richest person, and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative, Marshall said DOGE employees had been vetted. He emphasized the need to root out waste, fraud and abuse in government, including Medicaid.
“I know you’re fed so much misinformation,” Marshall said at one point.
On Ukraine, Marshall said he wasn’t surprised to see the blow-up between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday. He called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “blood-thirsty war criminal” but also said Europe needed to step up its defensive efforts.
“They have to be able to defend themselves,” Marshall said.
Marshall’s contentious town hall is one of several events across the country where GOP lawmakers have faced angry constituents. Last week, Rep. Mark Alford, a Missouri Republican, faced a furious crowd in Belton, where he said God had a plan for fired federal workers.
Marshall’s office has downplayed the critical reception he received in Oakley. His chief of staff, Brent Roberston, in a statement, noted that Marshall answered questions for 45 minutes. “Democrat operatives” couldn’t place Oakley on a map before Saturday, he said.
“Real Kansans overwhelmingly support President Trump’s DOGE initiative, shrinking the size of the federal government, and firing career bureaucrats. Local Oakley citizens had no clue who these people were and were embarrassed by the behavior,” Robertson said. “Senator Marshall is to be commended for staying as long as he did.”
