Rep. Swalwell takes aim at Trump administration at Hayward town hall
Rep. Eric Swalwell takes aim at Trump administration at Hayward town hall
Representative Swalwell held a town hall in Hayward on Tuesday. He took questions from an audience of passionate community members who pressed him about Gaza, Republicans and ways that California can push back. KTVU's Tori Gaines reports from Hayward.
Representative Eric Swalwell held a town hall in Hayward on Tuesday night, and community members pressed him for ways he and other California leaders are pushing back against the Trump Administration.
Community members who spoke with KTVU ahead of the town hall shared a common question:
"What do we do next? Because it doesn’t seem like enough is getting done," Meghan Schweizer, an East Bay resident told KTVU.
"I’m here because I’m hoping that he can shed some light on what’s gonna happen, what he foresees as the future of this country, of this area, of California," Patti Best said.
Along with immigration issues, the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and cuts to the Department of Education came to the forefront for town hall attendees.
"I have grandchildren and I have children and I want them to have access to education. But because they are changing policies, changing how financial aid is they are changing access to education, which is our right," Fern Tyler, who works at CSU East Bay, told KTVU.
Schweizer used to vote for Republican leaders, but she tells KTVU she now worries for the future her young daughter will face.
"I’m scared to death that she’s gonna grow up with less rights than I have," Schweizer told KTVU. "When he did become president, I was the idiot, like everyone else. I thought it was just four years, there’s no way that Roe v. Wade would be overturned. And then we saw what happened."
Swalwell sports protest t-shirt
The backstory:
Swalwell opened the town hall by removing his suit jacket, revealing that he wore a "No Kings in America" t-shirt, a head nod to the protest that drew millions of people across the country in July.
The town hall, held at the Hayward Unified School District Performing Arts Center, Swalwell sharing an update on Miguel Lopez, the immigrant who lived in the East Bay for nearly thirty years with his family before being deported in June.
"I got an update from Rosa today. She said, when she recently visited Miguel in Mexico, he was not able to work there. This has been quite a toll on their family as they sit at home and look at the empty chair where he used to join them every night at dinner," Swalwell said.
Swalwell says he has big plans for how congressional leaders hope to come back against policies enacted by the Trump Administration.
One goal he has now is to ensure that ICE agents aren't able to hide their faces as they detain people. The Trump Administration maintains that these agents have a reasonable fear for their safety, and they should have a right to wear face coverings during operations.
Swalwell also highlighted the need to protect judges' safety, particularly those who may be handling cases brought against the Trump Administration.
Town hall gets heated
What they're saying:
During the event, a heated exchange erupted between Swalwell and Livermore resident Jessica Bernal.
Bernal questioned Swalwell's commitment to a peaceable solution in Gaza.
"Still sending bombs and financial support to Israel when they are starving, maiming, and bombing a population that is mainly children…you either support us or you support ethnic cleansing," Bernal said.
Swalwell maintained throughout the town hall that he is committed to peace in the region, and he wants to see humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza immediately.
Schweizer tells KTVU she attended the town hall in search of more than answers. She also wanted hope.
"I’m afraid of a lot of things and I just wanna know what we can do, and I want to get a little bit of hope out of this," she said.
Swalwell says he is holding on to hope as he battles the administration, and he hopes others will do the same. He also says that hope cannot exist without doing the work to back it up.
"As they see people willing to stand up to him, to stand up to MAGA, they find hope. And so we will not be defined by where this president is taking us right now, but there is real work we have to do to be stewards of this democracy," Swalwell said.