The people want answers and are unafraid to put Republican Rep. Michael Baumgartner in a tight spot! During a town hall on Monday in Spokane, the Washington congressman was confronted with the allegations of his involvement with LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr.
A short clip capturing the explosive moment was posted on Reddit. As seen in the video, the rep was on stage fielding questions when a member of the audience spoke. The man in the audience can be seen standing boldly, reading out the question to the politician.
“That being said, how would you respond to the allegations that you have been using the LGBT dating app Grindr in secret?” the spectator asked. The question caused the crowd to burst into loud noises, apparently gearing the rep to answer the query. Some even audibly gasped.
Baumgartner responded to the question, saying, “This is news to my wife.” His reply was immediately met with loud murmurs from the crowd before the clip was cut off. Unsurprisingly, Baumgartner’s response sparked reactions from Redditors, who believe the allegations have some truth to them.
“No hint of a denial,” a Redditor accused. ”He didn’t say, ‘I’m married and I love my wife, I would never step outside the bounds of my marriage.’ Or, ‘That is a blatantly false accusation that I won’t even dignify with a response.’ Or even, ‘I am not familiar with this ‘gay app’ you’re talking about.”
A second user, agreeing with the sentiment, added, “Classic non-answer.” To which this Redditor replied, “Actually it was the perfect answer. He admitted it but did so in a way that made it seem like he wasn’t admitting it.”
A fourth netizen wrote, “That’s a 100% admission he’s on the down-low. I hope they send their evidence to his wife.” A fifth observer added, “He didn’t say NO,” So either his wife knows and they are into some weird ***t.”
Rep. Michael Baumgartner has been married to his wife, Eleanor, since 2010. The pair met while the politician worked as a counternarcotics advisor on a U.S. government-funded program in Afghanistan. They live with their five children in Spokane.
Recently, Baumgartner’s town hall meetings have made headlines for drama. On that Monday, the Spokane town hall was disrupted by activists. Per reports, he blamed “the far-left people” for the chaos. “They want to create the perception that Republicans and what we’re doing in Washington is not popular, or the American people are angry, which is actually not the truth,” he slammed.
The congressman also disclosed that the same group that disrupted the town hall had been protesting outside his office.
