Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert hit a new low in a (short) career marked by lows and lower lows Tuesday, heckling President Biden during his State of the Union address. The Congresswoman repeatedly interrupted Biden during the speech, most notably as the President remembered his son, Beau, who served honorably in the U.S. military in Iraq and Kosovo and later died of brain cancer that was likely tied to dangerous exposure during his service.
The President had just called on Congress to pass legislation aiding veterans exposed to dangerous toxins during their service, saying it was a problem that would put veterans “in flag draped coffins,” when Boebert interrupted, shouting “You put them there! 13 of them!” evidently referring to 13 service members who were killed during a suicide attack in the final days of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
She later doubled down on her comments on Twitter, posting:
The response of the Far Right has been broadly supportive of Boebert’s classless display, but, elsewhere, the criticism has been withering. Press Secretary Jen Psaki delivered the White House’s official response, saying of Boebert and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was also heard shouting and jeering during the speech, “I think it says a lot more about them than it does about how important these priorities are.”
Then there were the responses online and in the media: