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James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is on covering news and politics in Texas, as well as other general news across the United States. James joined Newsweek in July 2022 from LBC, and previously worked for the Daily Express. He is a graduate of Oxford University. Languages: English. Twitter: @JBickertonUK. You can get in touch with James by emailing j.bickerton@newsweek.com

James Bickerton

US News Reporter

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Republican Representative Barry Moore of Alabama left a town hall meeting through the back door on Thursday without delivering any closing remarks after being repeatedly booed and jeered by audience members.

Newsweek contacted Moore for comment via telephone and voicemail message on Friday outside regular office hours.

Why It Matters

Moore is the latest in a series of Republican lawmakers to be jeered during a town hall meeting, an issue that prompted House Speaker Mike Johnson to advise his colleagues earlier this year not to attend town halls.

This week, President Donald Trump’s net approval rating fell to -11 percentage points—his lowest since returning to office, according to a Newsweek tracker—amid backlash over his handling of issues such as tariffs and the economy.

What To Know

Moore faced a generally hostile reception, including chants of “shame,” on Wednesday when he addressed a town hall meeting in Daphne, Baldwin County.

The Republican lawmaker was challenged over a range of issues, including Medicaid cuts, abortion, immigration and Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.

Footage posted on YouTube shows Moore leaving the event via a backdoor after answering the final question. He made no closing statement to the jeering audience.

Moore was accused of lying after he said Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill, which congressional Republicans passed and Trump signed into law last month, would affect only illegal migrants.

According to the Center for Medicare Advocacy the package reduces funding on health programs by more than $1 trillion, making it “the largest rollback of federal support for health care in American history.”

Moore was also greeted with jeers after arguing that tightened border security was Trump’s “most meaningful” accomplishment, while the crowd cheered a call for military aid to Ukraine in the face of the congressman’s stated opposition.

Referring to Trump’s tariffs, a constituent asked: “Who pays the tariff? Is it the consumers or through the exporting country?” Moore began discussing a report that he said showed inflation hadn’t increased, prompting audience members to chant: “Who pays the tariffs? Who pays the tariffs?”

American Bridge 21st Century, a campaign group dedicated to “holding Republicans accountable,” posted a clip of the exchange on X.

Moore said in an interview on Thursday that the event was attended by “some of the same bad actors” he had seen on previous occasions.

Earlier this week, another clip went viral on social media of a farmer telling Republican Representative Mark Alford of Missouri to take his “head out of Trump’s a**” during a town hall event at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar.

On August 11, Republican Representative Doug LaMalfa of California faced boos and jeers after defending Trump at a town hall meeting in Chico, north of Sacramento.

What People Are Saying

Representative Barry Moore commented on the town hall on The Dale Jackson Show: “We left like any other event. I think we tried to engage and answer questions, but unfortunately, it got hijacked.”

What Happens Next

Earlier this month, Moore announced that he was running for the Alabama Senate seat currently occupied by Senator Tommy Tuberville, who is not seeking reelection. The election is scheduled for November 3, 2026, with primaries held in May.