Dean Phillip’s first town hall event in New Hampshire was expected to be a well-attended gathering with a lot of political debate. However, the event quickly went off the rails when he instead began to gaslight a woman in front of the entire crowd.
The event, which was held in April 2019, was widely publicized by the local media and was expected to get the crowd listening to Dean’s politically-charged words. However, the scene quickly changed when a woman in the audience spoke up and questioned Dean’s politics. Instead of soothing her fears or discussing the issue, Dean turned the tables on her and aggressively began to gaslight her.
The woman, a self-proclaimed independent voter, was trying to express her opinion about political reform in New Hampshire when Dean turned the tables on her. He refuted her opinion and began to ask her questions in a condescending manner in an effort to discredit her. He kept up this line of questioning for some time before he finally let her go.
The entire event was seen as an effort to discredit the woman and, in turn, discredit independent voters in the state of New Hampshire. The incident was met with outrage from the public and sparked national debate on the personal treatment of women in politics.
The scene at Dean’s first town hall was a stark reminder of how a leader can discredit women in an effort to assert their political dominance. This incident serves as an important lesson for all politicians that they must listen to dissenting opinions and respect their constituents, no matter their personal views.
