Grassley, 91, waves and smiles to booing, cursing protesters
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley was captured on video waving and smiling to booing protesters who were chanting "stand up to Trump" and repeatedly yelling "f--- you!" outside of his town hall event.
Footage posted on social media showed the 91-year-old Republican grinning and waving his arms as he waded into a hostile crowd that gathered outside the Franklin County Courthouse in Hampton on Friday.
"Stand up to Trump! Stand up to Trump!" the crowd could be heard chanting as Grassley exited the building following the event, flanked by two men who appeared to be security members.
An irate woman could then be heard yelling "traitor!" and "f--- you!" over and over toward Grassley, who at one point gives a double thumbs up in response to the reaction.
Grassley eventually stepped into a waiting vehicle as the crowd continued to boo and jeer him.
More than 100 people attended the town hall event, during which Grassley was asked questions on topics including tariffs, annexing Canada and the future of Social Security and other federal programs, according to Radio Iowa.
"Well, I think you can draw the conclusions, I win by landslides, but I don't win by 100% of the vote, so having people disagree with you is what democracy is all about," he was quoted by the outlet as saying.
The incident happened following other recent protests at Republican town hall events, including one in North Carolina two weeks ago during which a man who identified himself as a veteran stood up and started shouting at Rep. Chuck Edwards, yelling "you don't give a f--- about me!" before being escorted away by police.
"I just watched our GREAT Republican Congressman from North Carolina, CHUCK EDWARDS, hold a Town Hall in Asheville. He was a total gentleman, but the room was 'littered' with Radical Left Lunatics, mostly Democrats, and all they did was scream, shout and use filthy language," President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social yesterday. "They were largely paid agitators, with fake signs and slogans, and were only there to make TROUBLE! Chuck put up with it, and was WONDERFUL!"
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