One protester leaves after calling Democrat senator a liar about Israeli-Palestine conflict; Medicaid and SNAP cuts also brought up

Oregon U.S Sen. Ron Wyden spoke before a crowd of just over 200 on Sunday at the Medford Armory during his annual Jackson County town hall event.

Since first elected in 1996, Wyden has fulfilled an early campaign pledge to host yearly town hall events in each of Oregon’s 36 counties; he told audience members that Sunday’s Medford event was his 1,120th across the state.

Sunday’s event filled more than three-quarters of the armory with questions for the senator ranging from concerns over Medicaid and SNAP program cuts to overall uncertainty under the Trump administration and criticism of his views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Wyden’s 2024 town hall at Rogue X in Medford made headlines after organized protestors interrupted the event. Sunday’s town hall also included a small disruption, with a handful of audience members challenging the Democrat on his foreign policy and his acceptance of PAC funds.

“I support Israelis and Palestinians who are against killing innocents, but I am opposed to Hamas that hides in schools and hospitals so that innocents get hurt,” Wyden told the audience.

A man who yelled from the back of the venue called Wyden a liar and urged him to stop taking PAC funds as Wyden’s security detail moved closer to the man. Some audience members booed while others clapped

“He’s lying to all of you,” the man shouted before leaving.

During other portions of the town hall, Wyden emphasized his efforts to combat the Trump administration’s economic policies. He told those in attendance that he had grave concerns about health care being “under attack,” noting, “In Washington, D.C., the House of Representatives has passed a budget that is turning back the clock.”

He voiced concerns on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s policies on health care and cutbacks, but Wyden said he agreed with Kennedy on “taking on corporate food” and said he would fight for programs that create access to healthier food supplies.

He spoke of ongoing efforts to combat insurance company upcoding, he said, which is when “insurance companies say that you’re sicker than you actually are so they can get the government to give them a higher check.”

He called constant threats to Medicaid a “prescription for a sicker America,” which he vowed to fight “every step of the way.”

“This is a rich and good and strong country,” he said.

“And we can do better to make sure we don’t have so many people falling through the cracks.”

On concerns about Trump-driven tariffs, the senator told those in attendance that the Constitution provides authority to Congress.

“We’re going to insist on trade agreements coming to the Congress for approval, not him just putting them in by himself,” Wyden said of the president.

Wyden said he had heard from constituents from around the state about ongoing uncertainties and the back-and-forth in recent weeks on tariffs.

“All over Oregon, from Pendleton to Portland, all the farmers and the tech companies … have said, ‘Ron, we want only one thing. Tell him to stop changing his mind all the time. We need some certainty and predictability.’”

Wyden said he would “draw a line in the sand” on privatization of Social Security and said grassroots efforts were key. Real change, he said, “is hardly ever top-down.”

He noted, “Trump is trying to throw big chunks of the Constitution in the garbage can, so the question is are we gonna let him?”

“There is no question in my mind that Donald Trump is an authoritarian. He is somebody who is trying to increase his power at the expense of you. … We know authoritarians in the world. They’re people like Putin, who will just step in and take rights, and take more rights, and take more rights,” he said.

“I don’t think you look the other way when a bully tries to take your rights.”

George Reyes, a Phoenix veteran and Republican who attended Sunday, said he appreciated Wyden’s accessibility.

“I think there are a lot of big issues right now and nobody is going to agree on every single thing that comes up,” he told the Rogue Valley Times.

“But I applaud him showing up and even taking it on the chin a little bit. … It seemed like everybody got to ask their questions today. That’s what democracy is about, right?”

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or buffy.pollock@rv-times.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.