Rhode Island Congressman Gabe Amo stopped by the Barrington Senior Center on Wednesday morning, Feb. 19, and was met with a mixed reception from local seniors.

While the majority of residents who filed in to speak with Rep. Amo shared positive comments or asked questions about how they could support his work, there were two Barrington residents who pushed back on his message.

Peter Blanchet interrupted Rep. Amo while he answered questions from the media prior to the speaking engagement. 

“You’re just trying to scare older people,” Blanchet said, adding “I’m 79 years old. You are a liar and you’re scaring people.”

Blanchet, a longtime Barrington resident, said all the Democrats are scaring people. 

Rep. Amo responded. “I have no intentions to scare anybody.”

He added: “I would hope and pray that the House Republicans are not successful in cutting Medicare and Social Security.”

Rep. Amo, a Democrat who represents Rhode Island first district, planned the visit to Barrington to speak about how he has proposed an amendment that would protect and extend Medicare’s solvency by closing tax loopholes and requiring wealthy taxpayers to contribute more to Medicare. 

Rep. Amo also joined all Democrats on the House Committee on the Budget in supporting amendments to protect Medicaid from possible cuts to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and large corporations.

Toward the end of his presentation, Rep. Amo shared an exchange with longtime Barrington resident Kay Chapin, who spoke in favor of the recent governmental cuts by the Trump Administration. Rep. 

“I believe that they are not operating in our interests,” Rep. Amo said.