Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, speaks Monday during an in-person town hall event at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center. Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald

WESTBROOK — U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree fielded questions about the Trump administration — and the efficacy of her own resistance to it — at an energetic town hall with constituents Monday night. It was the second in a pair of back-to-back events that marked the first in-person town halls from a member of Maine’s congressional delegation in months.

One attendee was asked to leave the Westbrook Performing Arts Center after repeatedly requesting that the congresswoman explicitly describe the Trump administration as “Nazis.” At several other points, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause, both in response to questions asked and Pingree’s answers.

Pingree, D-1st District, addressed President Donald Trump’s whirlwind tariff orders and the potential harm they could cause for Maine, which is uniquely reliant on Canadian imports for raw materials and fuel. She also criticized billionaire Elon Musk’s advisory role in the administration through his Department of Government Efficiency, as well as threats to safety net programs like Medicare and Social Security.

The first attendee to get the microphone questioned the Democrats’ use of lofty, often conceptual language that she said “does not resonate with the American people.”

“What’s the vision? Where’s the mission? Where’s our Project 2027 or 2029?” she asked, referring to Project 2025, a massive overhaul of the federal government that has been the playbook for many of the new administration’s cuts and proposals.

Pingree responded that she agreed about the messaging issue and said she and her colleagues in the House of Representatives are having constant conversations about framing and how best to engage voters.

“We’re the party (that) we don’t tell lies, but we often make it complicated when we’re explaining it to people,” Pingree said.

Pingree hosted her first in-person town hall in years in Rockport on Sunday, drawing roughly 800 people to Camden Hills Regional High School. That was the first in-person town hall held by a member of Maine’s delegation since Trump retook office nearly three months ago. Her last in-person town halls took place in 2017, when Trump and Republicans were attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act during his first term.

Anna Kellar, of Portland, asks Rep. Chellie Pingree a question during Monday’s town hall event in Westbrook. Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald

Another attendee accused Pingree of governing by just “reflexively” opposing Trump’s policies, arguing that she changed her position on pulling U.S. troops from Syria in 2018 after Trump later vocally supported a removal.

Pingree countered that she does not intend to simply oppose Trump administration policies without considering them, saying that she would be willing to work with the administration if they developed plans “that make sense.” But she argued that many of Trump’s attempted moves have been illegal. She added that she could not remember the specific question asked in 2018.

“I understand why many people supported Trump, but I don’t believe that he’s delivering on what he promised,” Pingree said.

ATTENDEE ASKED TO LEAVE

Though Monday’s event remained civil, one attendee was asked to leave for repeatedly asking Pingree to call the Trump administration “Nazis.”

“Do you recognize that the federal government is run by Nazis who are sending people to concentration camps?” 21-year-old Coda Pickering asked, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Pingree pointed to a recent post she made on social media about the “dire situation” of Kilmar Abrego Garcia that called the prison a “gulag.” The congresswoman said she questioned whether that term would be appropriate before deciding, “What the hell? That’s a gulag.”

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was living in the U.S. legally. He has a young son.

ICE sent him to a Salvadoran gulag, then admitted it was a mistake.

In a 9-0 ruling, SCOTUS ordered his return.

Now Trump and Bukele say they can’t do anything about it?

Seriously?
(1/2)

[image or embed]

— Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (@chelliepingree.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 4:42 PM

Pingree said she was concerned by the deportations of alleged gang members to a Salvadoran prison, including those without clear ties to the country, as well as the revocation of student visas and threats of deportations.

“We can send anybody out of this country, and (Trump) can get away with it,” she said.

Someone in the back shouted out, “Do you recognize that they’re Nazis?” An aide said they were out of time and moved to the next question.

Following that question, Pickering stood back up, repeating the request. Some in the crowd yelled for her to sit down, while others demanded Pingree answer the question. An aide said Pickering would be escorted out by police if she continued to disrupt the event.

“I’m never quite sure about using the phrase ‘Nazis,’ because that’s a very specific moment in time,” Pingree said, though she acknowledged that some of Trump’s supporters are self-described white supremacists.

Pickering left without an escort. She told the Press Herald that she knew there was a slim chance that Pingree would offer that language, but she said the question needed to be asked “because it’s reality. I would like to see reality acknowledged.”

Later in the evening, in response to another question, Pingree accused Trump of modeling his actions after past and present authoritarian leaders.

“You can turn back to parallels from 1939, although I may not have said it as strongly as somebody wanted,” she told the crowd. “It is true. We are watching something that looks like a dictatorship.”

A large crowd attends Rep. Chellie Pingree’s town hall event Monday at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center. Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald

HUNDREDS FILL THE SPACE

Several attendees arrived more than an hour early. The performing arts center’s 1,000-seat auditorium had filled to more than three-quarters capacity by 6 p.m.

Portland resident Leigh Bullion, 36, said she wanted to hear Pingree’s thoughts on the possibility of bringing forth articles of impeachment, “one of the biggest levers we have” against Trump.

Bullion said she was aware that the Democrats’ minority in the House of Representatives could make impeachment all but impossible, but that it would be a valuable step, even “if only for raising public awareness.”

“I’m aware of the constriction, but it’s got to start somewhere,” Bullion said. She worried that Pingree would talk around the question instead of giving the “straight yes” Bullion desired. The question of impeachment was not explicitly addressed Monday night.

The event began with a video compilation of Pingree’s appearances on television and on social media. The crowd roared in applause as the prerecorded Pingree called Trump a “petulant child,” mirroring language his Social Security head recently used to denigrate Gov. Janet Mills.

Nearly every person in attendance stood as Pingree took the podium, applauding for more than 10 seconds.

“We have a president who is attempting to be an authoritarian,” Pingree said, adding that she shared attendees’ fears about “deeply disturbing” cuts for Maine and nationally.

“The one thing I hear more than anything else is, ‘So what are you doing about it?’ ” Pingree said. “We may have gotten a slow start (in Congress), but I guarantee you that most of us had already read Project 2025 before this election.”

Rep. Chellie Pingree listens to a question from the audience Monday night. Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald

She noted that it is difficult for the House minority to bring bills to the floor, let alone pass them, and highlighted “shadow hearings” by committee members and state-launched lawsuits against the Trump administration as other avenues for change. She thanked those who attended widespread protests earlier this month and said continued action and “agitation” was crucial.

Also in attendance were several members of the Westbrook town government and a handful of state legislators.

Pingree previously hosted two telephone town halls, including a joint appearance with Attorney General Aaron Frey, in which they fielded questions about federal funding, citizenship issues and Maine’s many legal challenges to the Trump administration. A combined total of more than 20,000 people called in for those two meetings, Pingree’s office has said.

The in-person town halls also came as members of Congress nationally face increased pressure from the public to meet with constituents and field public questions and comments. Party leadership last month urged House Republicans last month to avoid in-person town halls, after a number of events were overwhelmed by frustrated constituents.

Sunday and Monday’s town halls were both livestreamed and archived on Pingree’s YouTube page.