Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., on Wednesday disagreed with claims from Trump administration officials alleging “professional protesters” were sent to lawmakers’ town halls across the country.
“This wasn’t an artificial crowd. It wasn’t manufactured. It was real people with real concerns in terms of what came next on healthcare,” Sanford told CNN host Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday evening.
Sanford said he was not aware of any out-of-state residents who attended the local event, but added “certainly some people from outside the district” showed up. Sanford’s 1st Congressional District includes most of southeastern South Carolina.
The solid attendance of the town hall comes from a general concern about the future of healthcare in the country, especially in his state, where he said this year’s 29 percent hike in premiums is taxing constituents.
“Part of what’s generating this conversation and the tension is the plan that we have in place right now in South Carolina with the Affordable Care Act is not sustainable,” Sanford added.
“We’ve gone from three providers down to one just in the last two and a half years. And so the question is where do we go from here and it’s gonna be a big debate.”
Earlier Wednesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer claimed some attendees at rowdier town halls across the U.S. was an attempt to attract “media attention.”
“I think some people are clearly upset, but there is a bit of professional protester, manufactured base in there,” Spicer told reporters.
“It is a loud, small group of people disrupting something in many cases for media attention, no offense. Just because they’re loud doesn’t necessarily mean there are many, and I think, in a lot of cases, that’s what you’re seeing.”
