U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside) repeatedly critiqued the Trump administration and said the nation is in the midst of a constitutional crisis, likening it to early-stage cancer, at a Tuesday night town hall in Riverside.
“Like any cancer, if we don’t catch it early and confront it aggressively, it will spread,” Takano told the crowd of about 250 at Ysmael Villegas Community Center in his opening speech while addressing Trump’s defiance of multiple court orders.
Minutes later, Takano said a concerted effort to make the president’s actions increasingly unpopular locally and nationwide would be the “chemotherapy” required to force the administration to change its policies.
The town hall came as lawmakers returned to their districts last week as part of a short congressional recess at a time when multiple clips of constituents confronting mostly Republican representatives have gone viral this year on social media.
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Takano criticized a number of Trump policies, including recent tariffs, spending cuts and aggressive deportation practices.
The congressman’s central point, however, was that in order to help Democrats counter the Trump administration’s actions, a united and engaged public loudly voicing its disapproval in the coming months would be needed.
The crowd, in return, mostly applauded and supported Takano’s stances throughout the night as he addressed their concerns, with one audience member thanking the congressmember for his “dedication to our country.”
“We’re on your side,” another shouted.
However, Takano also faced criticism from some attendees who felt Democrats failed to deliver concise messaging to unite voters or adequately push back against Trump’s policies, pointing to Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-New York) vote on a Republican-written funding bill and cross-country rallies by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) as two opposing actions taken by party members.
“We are depending on you to be in Washington to do more than push back,” Kirk Christensen, a Riverside resident, told Takano. “There have got to be tools and mechanisms and things that you, as a minority political party, can use to fight against all the chaos.”
Takano said Democrats do have some tools in their arsenal to combat the administration, while admitting that he doesn’t currently have a solution to every issue, though he said he plans to host more community meetings in the coming months to continue the conversation with his constituents.
Deborah Madison, a Riverside resident, felt that the town hall went well but said that she found it difficult to imagine any potential avenue for lawmakers to pursue to impede the president.
“A lot of it is speculation,” Madison said. “Hopefully, in the next town hall meeting, he can give us a little more information and something more permanent.”
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