Rep. Mark Alford’s usual “Mondays with Mark coffee” erupted into a hostile town hall-style event as residents poured into a local coffee shop to express frustration over federal job cuts ushered in under President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative.
Now, the Missouri lawmaker is defending his message to constituents after nearly 100 residents were sent into a rage when he told them: “God has a plan and a purpose for your life.”
“So, I would encourage anyone who finds themselves in this situation to realize that we are going to get this economy turning again. There are jobs available,” Alford said as residents filled the small coffee shop in downtown Belton while dozens more lined the sidewalk outside, according to local media reports.
They all showed up for what devolved into an “extraordinarily heated town hall” Monday, where the MAGA lawmaker praised Trump and stood by the president's DOGE ally Musk, whose federal firings have reached the Kansas City region where Alford's district rests, the Kansas City Star reported.
And the backlash was clear.
“We don’t want your God!” a woman is heard screaming from the crowd in response to his remark. “Our God is Christian!” another yelled.
ALSO READ: 'Caesar figure': MAGA die-hards pushing 3rd Trump term met with CPAC silence
Videos of the raucous encounter – part of a growing trend of protests to Trump and Musk cuts nationwide – circulating social media show Alford being shouted down during the nearly two-hour back-and-forth.
He later took to X to issue a reply directly to the Star’s article where he also appeared to take a jab at those in attendance.
“Actually the full quote is : ‘God has a plan and purpose for your life. You are not a victim, you are a vicTOR,’” he wrote. “I was honored to be there and to hear concerns and answer questions. I only wished that we could have had a discussion. Thanks for covering today!”
He followed up a few minutes later with a second post: “And actually it was never a town hall. It was Mondays with mark coffee. We do it regularly. Usually 5-10 show up and we have true conversations to try to solve issues."
Approximately 30,000 residents across the Kansas City metro area are employed by the federal government – and cuts have already been felt, the Star reported. About 100 local IRS agents were let go last week.
“Just because you have a government job doesn’t mean it’s a lifetime appointment like a Supreme Court,” Alford is quoted as saying at Monday’s event.
