The town hall hosted by Dean Phillips in New Hampshire last week was anything but a success. Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota, is running for re-election in the US House of Representatives and chose the town hall event as a way to reach out to the local community. It started out unremarkably enough; answers to questions were given amongst polite applause, and nothing seemed to be amiss. That all changed, however, when a question was asked about the appointment of Supreme Court nominees.
At this point, the Phillips seemed to freeze. He stammered and stumbled as he tried to answer the question, his responses falling flat with the crowd. Then, as he attempted to cover up his uncertainty, Phillips seemingly gaslit the woman who posed the initial query.
In a surprise move, Phillips accused the woman of being a plant from the Republican party. He claimed that she was trying to put him in a bad light and was in some way sent there to do it. Understandably, the crowd was shocked and confused as to why Phillips would accuse an attendee of his own event. He didn’t provide any proof to back up his claim, and it seemed to the crowd that Phillips was just trying to deflect from the fact he was at a loss for words.
When all was said and done, the woman was so outraged that she left the town hall without a comment. Phillips was red-faced and obviously embarrassed by his own behaviour. With less than a few weeks until the election, this debacle could prove to be very harmful to Phillips’ campaign. Not only did it highlight his inability to think on his feet and formulate a proper answer to a controversial question, but it also shed negative light on his character.
It’s safe to say that the town hall was a lesson in what-not-to-do for Dean Phillips. The debacle showed that attitudes of attempted gaslighting and belittling won’t be tolerated, and that such behaviour will only reflect badly on the wielder. Clearly, Phillips has learnt his lesson, but only time will tell if it’s too late to undo the damage.