During a town hall in Arkansas on Wednesday night, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) faced a raucous crowd of about 2,000 people for two hours as attendees jeered and quizzed him on Republican plans to repeal Obamacare and the senator’s support for President Donald Trump.
As Cotton attempted to answer questions, he was often met with chants like “Do your job” and “tax return,” according to CNN.
Some of the toughest questions for the senator came on Obamacare. One attendee, Kati McFarland, began her line of questioning by asking everyone in the audience affected by Obamacare to stand up. Those who stood up cheered.
Woman in Tom Cotton town hall asks everyone affected by the ACA to stand up.
The response: pic.twitter.com/eXlEkyJnFM
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 22, 2017
She then explained that she suffers from a chronic disorder, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and said that she needs her medical insurance through the Affordable Care Act to stay alive.
“Without coverage for preexisting conditions, I will die,” she said, according to the Huffington Post. “Will you commit today to replacement protections for those Arkansans like me who will die or lose their quality of life or otherwise be unable to be participating citizens, trying to get their part of the American dream? Will you commit to replacement in the same way that you’ve committed to repeal?”
As Cotton attempted to respond by noting that some aspects of Obamacare will remain with a replacement, the crowd jeered. And when McFarland noted that he did not fully answer her question, the crowd responded with cheers.
This is a young woman challenging Cotton on ACA replacement plan. 2000 here inside. pic.twitter.com/bBEqIVuzoF
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) February 22, 2017
After the town hall, McFarland told Arkansas television station KFSM that she was not satisfied with Cotton’s response.
“He really didn’t give me a clear answer, he really didn’t commit on any replacement measures. He just said that he just reiterated that if you lose your coverage today you have protection. Well that wasn’t what I asked,” she said.
The last question came from a 7-year-old boy who expressed concern that Trump would eliminate funding for PBS in order to pay for a wall along the southern border.
