DES MOINES, Iowa— How nervous would you be to ask a question to a presidential candidate on national television?

For Brett Rosengren, a freshman advertising major at Drake University from Logan, Iowa, his legs felt like Jell-O.

The process of being selected to ask questions at a town hall meeting vary. On Jan. 25, at the Democratic Town Hall Meeting in Des Moines, audience members were asked to fill out surveys about the candidates and about themselves. One portion of the survey had an area for questions for the candidates, and for which candidate that question was directed.

Rosengren’s question was for any of the candidates.

“After I filled out the survey and I was screened by CNN, I got a phone call asking for more information,” Rosengren said. “The lady on the phone told me I would be a finalist to ask my question.”

Rosengren arrived at Drake University that night and was handed a card with his name on it and the letter Q for question. He was granted special ground-floor seating to ask his question.

“I knew the meeting was almost over, so I didn’t think they would get to my question,” Rosengren said. “But right before it was over, I got a tap on my shoulder and a guy handed me a microphone and said, ‘you’re up buddy.’”

He was led to the front, where Hillary Clinton and the rest of the audience were finishing up watching a Bernie Sanders ad. Once the ad was over, Rosengren was introduced and allowed to ask his question.

“I was so nervous and I had just watched the Sanders ad, so when I went to ask my question I said Senator San…. I mean Senator Clinton,” Rosengren said. “I was in full panic mode after I had said that, and I forgot my question for a second. The first thing that came to my head was, I can see why they gave you this question. Then I asked, ‘which past president do you look up to the most?’”

“Sorry President Obama, sorry Bill. Abraham Lincoln,” Clinton said.
Once the question was asked, the conspiracy theorists came running. Rosengren’s phone blew up with friend requests on Facebook and mentions on Twitter.

“Everyone thought I was paid by CNN to ask an easy question to Hillary. It was my question for any candidate, but I can see the irony in them giving the question to her, because she is married to a past president and worked for a president before,” Rosengren said.

Many people were harsh towards Rosengren, calling him unpatriotic for asking a question like that and being paid for it.

“At first it was friends and family texting me saying they saw me on TV. My mom text me and said she was so proud of me, but then I got a lot of mean messages from people who didn’t even know me,” Rosengren said.
“I replied to a lot of people telling them my side of the story, and a lot of people were thankful and understood what I meant.”

Rosengren has an open letter to anyone that wants to hear his side of the story on his Twitter page.