PORTSMOUTH — The sound reverberating through the Portsmouth Middle School auditorium on Monday night was a powerful and resounding rebuke of the direction President Donald Trump intends to lead America.

More than 500 people came out to hear three members of Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation — Sen. Jack Reed, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, and Rep. Gabe Amo — answer questions during a 105-minute town hall organized by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Newport County. Scott Pickering, general manager of East Bay Media Group, was moderator.

It was standing-room only inside the 400-seat auditorium, while another 60 or so people spilled out into a hallway to watch a live video feed. The small-town event was granted a national audience, as a CNN crew was there to tape the gathering.

With just a few exceptions, this was a decidedly Democratic crowd that hooted, hollered and loudly cheered just about any talking point that took aim at the Trump administration.

Reed kicked things off by setting the tone for the evening. “We are in the midst of a very stressful and, indeed, frightful moment of history,” he said, noting how the bond market is failing and that tariffs the president is proposing “will make it all much worse.”

The president has been alienating the country’s longtime allies, and “cozying up to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is not the way," he said. Trump’s assault on information — through his pressure campaign on colleges and universities — will set the country back years on research, Reed said.

“Unchecked, he could do anything he wants,” he said.

Whitehouse advised constituents to keep a careful eye on a special budget tool Republicans in the House and Senate are planning on using called reconciliation. Reconciliation is used to make changes to the debt limit, mandatory spending or revenue adjustments, although it cannot be used for discretionary spending or policy change.

“It’s the process by which the GOP and Trumpsters can jam stuff through without us filibustering,” Whitehouse said.

The catch is, a budget needs to be agreed upon and passed first. “(The GOP) can’t agree on the numbers. It’s headed for a pretty serious collision,” he said.

Amo said he sympathized with people who are angry and concerned about the “scope, speed and scale” of Trump’s actions. 

The president, he said, “has not only erred on the side of lawlessness, but has made that his brand.” Trump’s mission “is to overwhelm us,” making people turn off their TVs, said Amo, who implored everyone “to remain focused.”

Medicaid, Social Security, more

Not surprisingly, much of Monday’s discussion revolved around constituents’ concerns over possible cuts to Medicaid and Social Security. 

Reed said people have a right to be worried about Medicaid reductions, because that’s how the GOP will be able to fund its pet projects. “The only reason they’re looking to cut Medicaid is so they afford a tax cut that will benefit the wealthiest of millionaires,” he said, adding that such cuts will hurt nursing homes, drug rehab centers and the entire “medical delivery system.”

“This is not just blue/red state; this is everywhere. In many red states, it will impact, and they are worried,” Reed said, adding that the Democrats need to “move our colleagues on the Republican side to do their job and to be faithful to the oath they took — to preserve, protect and defend the United States.”

Whitehouse charged that part of the GOP’s plan is to privatize Social Security, “provoking an interruption of benefits at Social Security so they can bring in the private equity people and the tech bros to say, ‘We can do it better.’”

Amo agreed. “We should fund Social Security at a higher level, not think of privatizing it,” he said.

As for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cutting federal spending which it characterizes as “waste, fraud, and abuse,” Amo scoffed.

“Where’s the beef? These DOGE savings are nonexistent. I’d like to look at (cuts) with thoughtfulness,” he said, noting that the department seems to target any program that sounds anything like “diversity.” He referred to the “wholesale gutting” of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is invested in protecting the environment and oceans. 

“Do they know what they’re cutting? No,” said Amo.

As for the Trump administration’s plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, the congressmen said they don’t yet know what impact that would have on public schools in Rhode Island, including funding for special education.

“Fifteen percent of education funds in the state of Rhode Island are federal funds,” said Reed. “I don’t think any organization can absorb an immediate 15-percent reduction, Frankly, I don’t think Trump would mind that at all.”

What can we do?

Diana O'Dell of Portsmouth was the first audience member to ask a question, and it was a simple one.

“What can we do?” she asked. “What’s the best way to fight this hostile government takeover?” 

Whitehouse responded that the first thing one needs to do is to take care of yourself, which isn’t easy. 

“The second is, go through your contacts list and anybody who you know who lives in a state with a Republican senator, ask them, ‘Would you mind giving them a call and let them know how you feel?’ Constituents matter,” he said, before referencing a Democrat who served in both chambers of Congress. “One of Barbara Mikulski’s favorite sayings was, ‘Don’t agonize, organize.’”

Amo suggested that constituents fight against what he characterized as Trump’s misinformation campaign. “Pushing out fact-based information from the right sources is great,” he said, adding that people should volunteer and work with others more.“This is how we continue to build community in whatever way we can.”

Gregory Huet, a retired Naval officer and Iraqi war veteran who chairs the Middletown School Committee, spoke for many when he said he was concerned about major cuts to nonprofits and other important agencies. He said more high-ranking GOP members should follow the path of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a Republican who has gone up against President Trump on numerous occasions.

“To the Republican senators who are scared of our president … I ask, where is the moral courage?” Huet asked to loud applause, with many people rising from their seats.

Whitehouse grilled on Israel

Although many people came out to vent about the Trump administration, a few had more pointed questions for those sitting on stage. 

About a dozen people with signs protesting the United States’ support for Israel in the Gaza war greeted people as they made their way inside the school Monday night. Inside the auditorium, Nancy Hood of Bristol, a founding member of East Bay Citizens for Peace, put the question directly to Whitehouse.

Hood referenced a letter she received from Whitehouse in which the senator said Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, was “purposely obstructing peace in the Middle East and caused needless death and suffering.”

“That’s a quote from you, and you were right; Netanyahu is a wanted war criminal,” Hood said. “I want to know: If you cared about the suffering of the people in Gaza, why didn’t you join your colleagues in Massachusetts and Connecticut this month when they voted to support a Bernie Sanders joint resolution of disapproval to block the sale of the kinds of offensive U.S.-made weapons which have been used in the strikes that have killed thousands of civilians in Gaza … and instead, you voted to spend $8.6 billion of our tax dollars for more offensive weapons including 35,000 one-ton bombs in support of Netanyahu’s war.”

Whitehouse replied he grew up in the foreign service and spent his life watching Israel usually operating with the same values as the United States, despite being in an extremely dangerous neighborhood. 

“Having watched that for decades, I am ardently pro-Israel,” Whitehouse said. “I do not like (Benjamin) Netanyahu. I do not think he’s been helpful in trying to bring peace to the Middle East. I think he’s tried to interfere with the process that President Biden led. I think his conduct of the war in Gaza has very often been excessive and disgraceful. But we have had presidents who have been excessive and disgraceful; I would say we have one right now. I still want our friends abroad to stand by America, hoping for better days. Longterm, I’m pro-Israel.”

‘Still don’t have a paycheck’

A few people who took to the microphone made personal pleas to the congressmen. One of them was Jennifer Ferriera DaSilva of Portsmouth, who worked at the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center for “41 years and one month” before retiring in February.

“I still don’t have a paycheck. I’ve been living for three months without pay,” said DaSilva, adding she now has Multiple Sclerosis and can’t pay the rent or her doctor’s bills, as her husband must support them both financially.

“I have to go to him for everything; it’s putting a strain on our marriage. I have to ask him to get me an ice cream cone because I can’t afford one,” she said.

Reed promised he’d “have someone down to your place tomorrow morning.”

DaSilva thanked Reed before quipping, “I want an ice cream cone!”

A few for Trump

There were a handful of pro-Trump attendees who made their presence known near the end of the event. One man repeated the false claim of massive fraud going on with Social Security — that millions of deceased people are receiving payments. 

“I would dispute the facts that you asserted. Fraud in Social Security is less than 1 percent; it’s really not a thing,” replied Whitehouse. 

Another man was nearly drowned out by an eruption of laughter after he complained to Amo about Democrats “inciting violence against MAGA.”

“Violence in any form is unacceptable,” Amo said after the audience settled down. “I wish my Republican colleagues would lead by example, but history has shown that they haven’t.”