Facing mounting criticism over his refusal to appear at a town hall organized by his constituents, U.S. Representative Nicholas Langworthy has gone on the offensive—not only against the organizers but also against The Buffalo News. In a series of public statements and interviews, Langworthy accused the paper of political bias, framing journalists as “activists with press passes” and dismissing the town hall as a stunt orchestrated by a national leftist movement.
For the second-term congressman who rose to prominence as a staunch Trump ally and former chair of the New York Republican Party, Langworthy’s decision to attack the media rather than engage with his constituents is part of a Republican strategy to counter increasing frustration with the Trump policies. But in Western New York, where economic struggles, rural health disparities, and infrastructure needs demand leadership, Langworthy is missing in action.
Langworthy’s Empty Chair
The March 21 town hall in Ellicottville was organized by Good Neighbors Getting It Done in WNY, a local group focused on encouraging civic participation and raising awareness of local and national issues. Organizers invited Rep. Langworthy to attend and meet with his constituents. When he declined, Good Neighbors used an empty chair to represent Langworthy—a simple, unmistakable image of his absence.
The photo of the empty chair struck a nerve.
The Buffalo News ran a story on the event, including a photo of the empty chair, highlighting the congressman’s refusal to meet with his constituents. It wasn’t the only picture of an empty chair in America that week. Speaker of the House, Johnson advised his Republican caucus to skip town halls to avoid the voters’ wrath. But the picture of the empty chair reserved for Langworthy has received extraordinary attention because of Langworthy’s outsized reaction.
Rather than addressing the questions raised at the event—on health care access, veterans’ services, and economic recovery—Langworthy accused The Buffalo News of misrepresentation and bias.
“They’re not journalists anymore,” Langworthy said in a WKBW interview. “They’re activists with press passes.”
Langworthy’s combative response was designed to resonate with his base of conservatives. But it is also a standard Republican response. When challenged, Langworthy attacks, attacks, and attacks, even if the target is a group of civic-minded citizens. There is no room for free speech in Langworthy world.
No In-Person Town Hall Meetings for Langworthy
Langworthy’s refusal to appear at the Good Neighbor’s event isn’t new. Since entering Congress in 2023, he has not held a single in-person town hall open to the general public. His preference has been to conduct telephone town halls where questions are pre-screened, and Langworthy’s staff maintain tight control of the proceedings.
“I’m happy to talk to people who disagree with me,” Langworthy told WKBW, “but it has to be respectful.”
The implication is clear: he views in-person engagement with his constituents as adversarial. But respect isn’t measured by whether questions are easy. It’s measured by whether our representatives are willing to answer questions in person. Langworthy is not.
Langworthy’s constituents would like the opportunity to discuss issues with the Langworthy in person. For example, on the social media platform “X” julesofthenyle writes,
“My congressman, Nick Langworthy (NY-23) refuses to hold in person town hall. Instead he does carefully curated telephone town halls. We’re going to have to picket his offices at this point. I don’t see how else to make him face his constituents.“
Langworthy Claims “Astroturf” Smear
Langworthy didn’t just attack The Buffalo News—he also attacked the event organizers, painting Good Neighbors Getting It Done as a front for national left- wing groups.
“It’s a political astroturf move,” Langworthy claimed, referring to the organizing network known as Indivisible. “These organizations… sound like they are community-oriented, but really, they are part of a nationwide network of leftist activists.”
Langworthy’s language—calling local, civic-minded volunteers in his district pawns of a shadowy national movement—is standard right-wing strategy. It’s like claiming angry; George Soros pays people to disrupt Republican town hall meetings. But the facts don’t back Langworthy’s allegations.
A couple of related points. First, “astroturf” is a new word in the political lexicon. It refers to fake grassroots efforts, fake as in fake grass as in astroturf. Second, conservatives and MAGA have used George Soros as a whipping boy for supporting progressive causes. But the new Secretary of the Treasury is a Soros guy. Before his Senate confirmation as Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent was the Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management. It seems like George Soros has infiltrated the Trump administration through Scott Bessent.
Organizers Kathleen King and Sarah Metcalf strongly refuted Langworthy’s assertions.
“We are all volunteers,” Metcalf said. “We don’t have funding, we don’t even have a bank account.”
Like similar groups across the country, Good Neighbors Getting It Done recently formed in response to frustration with the Trump administration and its implementation of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. But Good Neighbors Getting It Done operates independently. It receives no financial support from either the Democratic or Republican Party. Its members include retirees, teachers, small business owners, and veterans. These people are hardly the “radical leftists” Langworthy portrays.
“I find it really disappointing that a member of the House of Representatives has been so misled by misinformation that their press releases would include false and disparaging statements about their Western New York constituents,” Metcalf added.
Langworthy’s Media Strategy
Langworthy’s rhetoric fits a familiar pattern. When faced with criticism, he attacks. Whether it’s the press, advocacy groups, or individual citizens, the goal is to shift focus from the issue to the messenger.
The “attack, attack, attack” strategy is Donald Trump’s. He learned it from Roy Cohn. Langworthy learned it from Trump. In Trump’s orbit, the media isn’t just biased; it’s the enemy, the enemy of the people. Critics aren’t opponents. They’re enemies of the state.
“The Buffalo News isn’t interested in the truth,” Langworthy declared. “They’re interested in clicks and headlines.”
But as many in NY23 and the rest of Western New York noted, The Buffalo News wasn’t creating headlines but reporting on them. Langworthy’s refusal to meet with his constituent at a public town hall and the resulting circus was a newsworthy event. And if Langworthy appeared at the town hall meeting, there wouldn’t have been an empty chair to photograph.
Protests in Corning, New York
On March 21st, in another episode of citizen frustration with Rep. Langworthy, dozens of constituents gathered outside his Corning office to protest his support for Trump-era proposals threatening Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Retired nurse practitioner Marita Florini said she repeatedly tried and failed to reach Langworthy to express her concerns regarding healthcare programs. “We need to improve our community, and he’s not doing that,” she said. Marita’s experience is one of many examples of Langworthy’s callous disregard for his constituents.
Langworthy’s Constituents Left Out in the Cold
The Ellicottville town hall fiasco and the Corning demonstrations indicate the growing frustration with Langworthy.
Langworthy’s district is the NY23rd, which extends from Lake Erie on the West to the southern tier. NY23 is a poor district with significant challenges. Rural hospitals face chronic underfunding. SNAP (food stamp) benefits, Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare are essential for people in NY23, even as they are under attack by the Trump administration.
When constituents gather to discuss these issues—regardless of party—and their representative refuses to meet with them, it sends a clear message. “You are not worth my time.“
A Missed Opportunity
The irony is that Langworthy had nothing to fear from the Ellicottville town hall meeting. He didn’t need to be afraid. The organizers extended a good-faith invitation. The event wasn’t a protest. It was a forum. If he’d attended and explained his positions on healthcare, inflation, and infrastructure, he could’ve shifted the narrative.
Instead, he doubled down on grievance politics, playing to the conservative base in NY23 and the rest of the nation while ignoring his constituents.
Western New York isn’t Washington. In Western New York, voters notice when their representatives hide behind social media posts instead of showing up. And no amount of “media bias” framing can cover the fact that when the community asked to be heard, Langworthy wasn’t in the room.
Accountability Can’t Be Outsourced
Langworthy’s clash with The Buffalo News and grassroots organizers isn’t just about one town hall. It’s about how representatives define their role in a democracy. Do they view themselves as public servants, or do they view their constituents as obstacles to be managed so that they can be re-elected?
For now, Langworthy seems more interested in managing his image than in representing NY-23. But voters are paying attention. And come the next town hall and the next election, there may be more than a picture of an empty chair waiting for him. There may be a reckoning from the electorate in NY23.