An appearance by Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno at the City Club of Cleveland Wednesday drew dozens of protesters on the street outside and frequent outbursts and interruptions from audience members inside.
At one point during the forum, Moreno was asked about President Trump’s unsuccessful efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Moreno, who defeated incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown last year, said Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for those efforts.
“He should. 100 percent. 100 percent,” Moreno said.
Those comments were met with some applause, but mostly with laughter and audible table banging.
“I have time for like two more questions, so I would like to get them in before we turn it over to you,” said moderator, NBC News reporter Henry Gomez, to the audience in an attempt to quiet the crowd.
“What's your major malfunction, man? Nobel Peace Prize?” an audience member can be heard responding.
Moreno argued that Trump inherited the war in Ukraine from the Biden Administration.
As the interruptions continued, City Club President Dan Moulthrop sought to reestablish decorum at what are normally reserved lunch hour events.
“I just want to invite everybody to take a couple of deep breaths and recognize that we all came here to hear answers,” Moulthrop said. “And we may not be satisfied with those answers, but we're here to respect civic discourse, and if you don't want to respect civic discourse you don't have to stay, and I'd happily refund any tickets that need to be refunded.”
The tone for the forum was set well before it started, with around 50 protesters gathering outside the City Club while attendees were still arriving.
Several protesters said they were there because Moreno hasn’t held a public event in Cleveland or offered other opportunities to voice their concerns directly to the senator.
Rita Szymczak said the issue that brought her out is the future of Ukrainian refugees who are being sponsored by her church. But her list included other issues.
“I’m concerned about taxation and about the tariffs and the increasing costs," Szymczak said. "I’m also concerned about the transparency. Truth seems to be covered up and hidden."
During the forum, Moreno did not directly address Ukrainians’ status in the United States but said he supported Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“I find it even more offensive that I hear things like 'Well, who's going to do these jobs?’ Is it something, that you think Hispanics are here to clean your homes and mow your lawns? That's deeply offensive,” said Moreno, an immigrant from Colombia.
Following this comment, another audience member could be heard laughing loudly.
Another protester, Jan Maurer, said she was there to oppose cuts to Medicaid and government subsidies for health insurance created by the Affordable Care Act.
“But we want it to be known, when he comes, that there are Ohioans that disagree with the policies,” said Maurer. “And actually, his speech today is about how he’s working for Ohioans. So far, we haven’t seen anything.”
During his speech, Moreno pushed back against the idea that the recently passed reconciliation bill called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed along party lines in July, actually includes cuts to Medicaid.
“I reject the idea that there's cuts because again, we're not cutting, we're actually adding significant amounts of money to Medicaid,” Moreno said during the forum. “Again, these are things you can look up. You can argue with the premise, but these are things you can look up.”
According to a Congressional Budget Office estimate published after passage of the reconciliation bill, federal spending on Medicaid will decrease by $911 billion over the next ten years and the number of uninsured people will increase by 10 million.
The Center for Community Solutions, an Ohio-based, non-partisan research organization, estimates that, within the first year of changes to Medicaid, Ohio will lose $5.1 billion in funding and $53.3 billion over the next ten-years, due in large part to eligibility changes.
Moreno highlighted support for rural hospitals and an increased cap on taxes paid by hospitals, but both measures only offer temporary relief.
Another protester at the City Club, Richard Margolius, said he was hoping to ask a question during the second half of Moreno’s speech at City Club.
“Why he voted for a tax cut for billionaires, people making over $750,000-a-year, made that tax cut permanent, and the tax cut for people who earn tips and overtime is only temporary, and how is that fair?” Margolius said.
Officials from the City Club said the atmosphere inside during the forum could have long lasting effects.
“If we're going to continue to get speakers like Senator Moreno here today, we have to be a little bit more thoughtful in the way we're acting in the audience,” said City Club Board President Mark Ross.
