Rep. Jacobs fields questions on Trump resistance, Gaza at Clairemont town hall

U S Rep Sara Jacobs speaking at a town hall event at Madison High School in Clairemont Screenshot of Town Hall livestream Democratic Rep Sara Jacobs hosted an in-person town hall meeting Wednesday night at Madison High School in Clairemont fielding questions on topics ranging from the Israel-Palestine conflict to domestic and local San Diego issues The congresswoman who represents California s st district covering San Diego opened with pointed remarks about modern congressional proceedings I m very very happy to be home right now very happy Let me say that one more time But let s be clear Speaker Johnson canceled Congress because he was so afraid of having us vote on the Epstein files Jacobs announced Following her opening remarks Jacobs dove right into answering questions from constituents with the the first inquiry focusing on what tangible actions Democrats are taking against the Trump administration Jacobs laid out a four-part plan to push back against the Trump administration but first reminded attendees that Democrats are playing zone defense not man-to-man Each one of us individually isn t going to be able to do everything that we need to do but all together all of us are going to do what we need to do she explained Part one was introducing provision even if it won t be passed Litigation was part two and oversight was the third aspect she discussed Getting out and asking questions is key she announced because when we show up and ask questions there are behavior changes And lastly she emphasized the importance of society pressure and people gathering and voicing frustration Jacobs expressed the importance of planning for the future She revealed it s not just about putting Democrats in power and building ordinance for when that time comes but also looking at tactics to rebuild and restructure democracy because we also need to recognize that the status quo was not working She took on various international protocol topics as well the main focus being the conflict between Israel and Palestine During her response to the conflict question the crowd burst out with a mixture of reactions Claps jeers chants and more could be heard over Jacobs as she tried to respond Various applauded her stance not to provide offensive weapons to the Israeli administration but others were upset that she would not deem the situation in Gaza a genocide Jacobs would not specifically call it a genocide because genocide is a legal term that has not been applied to the situation in Gaza she stated But she did note the large displacement could amount to ethnic cleansing and that Palestine should be a free state She also addressed concerns over changes to the military and the people who can serve She encouraged veterans and active-duty operation members to share their experiences because real human stories are what we need She had the same sentiment regarding the greater part issues discussed at the meeting encouraging constituents to share their stories because it puts a real face to a real complication for lawmakers I think all of us here in San Diego have a responsibility to talk about the role the margin and immigration play in our lives she declared She called the Trump administration s immigration enforcement horrific but explained that Democrats are in the minority and though there are things she wants to fix legislatively it just isn t feasible at the moment I think we have a really vital role here as San Diegans because we are a perimeter population right Like we know better than the bulk how major our immigrant public is to our commercial sector and the fabric of our society she mentioned Jacobs ended the meeting applauding attendees for showing up and doing the largest part critical thing you could be doing right now It is the honor of my life to get to represent you even amidst all the chaos even amidst all the craziness and I m really really grateful that you all have been perfect and trusted me to be your representative right now she revealed