About 100 people were in attendance for a town hall Monday, June 16, with Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Alford of Missouri's 4th District. The event, held at Belton Memorial Station, was put on by KCUR's community engagement team and moderated by Up To Date's Steve Kraske.
Outside a large group of protesters gathered, carrying upside down American flags and signs criticizing the Congressman and the Trump administration.
Alford spoke briefly with protestors prior to the event, and talked inside about his hope to revive civil conversations.
"I know we're not all going to agree," Alford said in his opening remarks. "I know some of you in this room didn't vote for me, and sure as hell aren't going to vote for me the next time around."
In February, Alford was met with a critical crowd at a Belton coffee shop, who confronted him over government layoffs that impacted the Kansas City area.
Once KCUR's town hall began, Alford fielded questions from audience members and a live stream about abortion, education funding, gun control, public media funding, cuts to Medicaid and more.
As chair of the Oversight, Investigations and Regulations subcommittee for the U.S. House Small Business Committee, Alford discussed the negative impact that tariffs are having on farmers and small businesses.
The congressman said he's "not a huge fan of tariffs," but argues that they're working to pressure countries to reach trade deals with the United States. He echoed President Trump's comments that Americans need to "break the addiction" of buying cheap goods.
"It is going to be a little bit painful for some business owners who have been relying on goods from China," Alford said. "I think what you're going to see, though, in the next month or so... we're going to have more of an even playing field."
Alford also defended the president's "One Big Beautiful Bill," in response to audience questions about the national debt and taxes. According to the Congressional Budget Office, rich people in America would receive nearly all the benefits from the GOP legislation — while the poor would be even worse off.
"I think we are going to have the strongest economy of my lifetime in six months," Alford said.
You can watch the full, unedited conversation below. A condensed version aired on KCUR's Up To Date on Wednesday.
KCUR previously held a town hall with Democratic Reps. Sharice Davids (Kansas 3rd) and Emanuel Cleaver II (Missouri 5th) in April.
Our community engagement team has also reached out on multiple occasions to each U.S. Senator from Kansas (Republicans Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran) and Missouri (Republicans Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt), as well as the the other U.S. House representatives whose districts cover the Kansas City metro area.
This episode was produced from a community forum organized by KCUR's Community Engagement Team: Laura Ziegler, Ron Jones and Zach Perez.
- Rep. Mark Alford, Missouri's 4th Congressional District
