The chair of the Ohio Republican Party is calling on candidates to avoid appearances at the City Club of Cleveland, two days after a forum with Sen. Bernie Moreno was frequently interrupted by outbursts from the crowd.
“The @ohiogop will urge candidates to avoid future events at the City Club of Cleveland. It is not what it purports to be and until they foster civil, adult conversation, Republicans should decline participation to avoid this spectacle,” Ohio GOP chair Alex Triantafilou wrote on X Thursday night.
The City Club has not responded to a request for comment.
Members of the audience frequently laughed, banged on the table and made comments while Moreno was speaking with moderator Henry Gomez of NBC News.
During one exchange, after Moreno said President Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a member of the audience called out, “What is your major malfunction, man? Nobel Peace Prize?”
Officials from the City Club tried to quiet the crowd.
The @ohiogop will urge candidates to avoid future events at the City Club of Cleveland. It is not what it purports to be and until they foster civil, adult conversation, Republicans should decline participation to avoid this spectacle. https://t.co/qFEUy1wyOQ
— Alex Triantafilou (@ChairmanAlex) August 22, 2025
“I just want to invite everybody to take a couple of deep breaths and recognize that we all came here to hear answers,” City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop said during the forum. “And we may not be satisfied with those answers, but we're here to respect civic discourse, and if you don't want to respect civic discourse you don't have to stay, and I'd happily refund any tickets that need to be refunded.”
The City Club frequently hosts debates during election season and invites both national and local political figures for forums that include prepared remarks and questions from the audience.
On its website, it describes itself as “one of the nation's great free speech forums. A product of the Progressive Era, we were founded in 1912 and are one of the nation's oldest continuous independent free speech forums, renowned for our tradition of debate and discussion.”
In a comment provided to Ideastream Public Media, Triantafilou offered the City Club the opportunity to make changes to reverse the boycott.
“Senator Bernie Moreno has been a steadfast advocate for Ohio and a respected voice in the U.S. Senate,” Triantafilou, the former chair of the Hamilton County GOP, said. “What occurred on Wednesday was completely unwarranted. The City Club must do more to restore civility in its open dialogue sessions, and I welcome any recommendations to help improve that process.”
