Hillary Clinton to Republicans ducking town halls: ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the ... Congress’

Hillary Clinton speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Dec. 8, 2016. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Hillary Clinton speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in December 2016. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Hillary Clinton has a message for Republican members of Congress who are ducking angry constituents as they return to their home districts.

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the…Congress,” Clinton tweeted Wednesday, linking to an op-ed in the Kansas City Star about the growing wave of demonstrations seen at town halls across the country this week.

GOP lawmakers have been greeted by overflow crowds in their states filled with angry voters and protesters demonstrating against President Trump’s polarizing policies, and some GOP members of Congress have canceled or skipped their town halls altogether. According to Salon.com, more than 200 congressional Republicans were prepared to skip out on the previously scheduled events.

“No one likes to be scolded,” the Star wrote in an editorial. “No one wants to endure a public takedown. Politicians understandably flinch, knowing that someone could film an embarrassing exchange, itching for video that can go viral online.”

Related: Republicans take evasive maneuvers to avoid feisty town halls

“But members of Congress signed up for this when they ran for office,” the paper continued. “They were elected to serve. And not just to adoring crowds, kissing cute babies and shaking the hands of veterans for touching photo ops. Representing the people means showing up, even when the exchange may not be among friends.”

On Tuesday night, Trump criticized the town hall unrest, claiming the “so-called angry crowds” were organized by progressive activists.

“The so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists,” Trump tweeted. “Sad!”

Clinton, the former Democratic nominee, has occasionally used social media to needle Trump since his inauguration, supporting the Women’s March, stating that the president’s travel ban is “not who we are,” taunting him for his appeals court loss and making a “fake news” joke after the ousting of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

But Clinton has mostly kept a low profile, hiking in the woods near her home in Chappaqua, N.Y., and attending several Broadway plays and fundraisers.

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