Precisely as they likely intended, conspiracy theory loving Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert gained attention during Democratic President Joe Biden's State of the Union address last night after two incidents where they heckled him during his speech.
One of those moments has left a particularly indelible mark, as it came during a heartfelt moment in which Biden discussed his son Beau's 2015 death of brain cancer that was likely caused by exposure to toxic chemicals during military combat.
As Biden introduced legislation inspired by Beau's experience, Boebert suddenly erupted from the House floor shouting about the soldiers who were killed in a terror attack during last fall's military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The outburst resulted in booing from her colleagues.
Count White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki among those who didn't appreciate Boebert and Greene's spectacles. She had some choice words for the Representatives during an MSNBC appearance this morning on Way Too Early with Jonathan Lemire.
See her comments below.
Jen Psaki on Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert heckling Biden during the #SOTU, "They were heckling around\u00a0that\u00a0time and\u00a0that\u00a0moment.\u00a0I\u00a0think\u00a0that\u00a0says\u00a0a\u00a0lot\u00a0more\u00a0about\u00a0them\u00a0than it does\u00a0about\u00a0how important these priorities\u00a0are."pic.twitter.com/8I7yz3dFTv— Sarah Reese Jones (@Sarah Reese Jones) 1646228168
Lemire asked Psaki about her response to the two incidents of heckling--Boebert's during Biden's speech about his son, and an earlier incident in which Boebert and Greene joined together to get a chant of "build the wall" going while Biden discussed immigration, an effort that faceplanted immediately.
Psaki did not mince words in her reply. Pointing out that Boebert and Greene chose to heckle during Biden's speaking to issues facing veterans, the very people Boebert and Greene purport to support, Psaki underlined the hypocrisy show in the Representatives' antics.
"There is no question we should do more to help our nation's veterans, people who have been hurt by the impacts of burn pits. Of course we need to do more to work together to cure cancer. They were heckling around that time and that moment."
"I think that says a lot more about them than it does about how important these priorities are, and how much the vast majority of people who were sitting there watching in that chamber last night could work together to solve exactly those problems."
On Twitter, people applauded Psaki's response.
Anyone else love Jen Psaki even MORE after she called out Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene for heckling President Biden during his State of the Union address?— Jon Cooper (@Jon Cooper) 1646231220
She used her response to focus on common causes. Masterful.— Lookingover Time (@Lookingover Time) 1646248113
BOOM https://twitter.com/PoliticusSarah/status/1499015704519004161\u00a0\u2026— Patsy Crowley (@Patsy Crowley) 1646242554
Jen Psaki's comment on their heckling-\n"Reps. Boebert and Greene are in Congress to be right-wing celebrities. They have no interest in learning how to govern and in the process of legislating. They view their jobs as celebrity platforms."\n\nPERFECT!!!!— Carol Waryas (@Carol Waryas) 1646236435
I agree with Jen Psaki about her statement towards Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert heckling President Biden during his #SOTU speech. Dumber and Dumbest need to sit down and shut the hell up. They\u2019re both traitorous incompetent .— Xay #IStandwithUkraine \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Xay #IStandwithUkraine \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1646234335
I couldn't possibly love Jen Psaki more, and I couldn't possibly detest Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene more. That's where I stand.— Stuart in Boston (@Stuart in Boston) 1646246300
PLEASE stop giving free bandwidth to Boebert & Greene. Their goal is to distract your attention from even the most bipartisan of goals.\n\nBe like Jen Psaki.https://www.politicususa.com/2022/03/02/jen-psaki-has-the-perfect-response-to-boebert-and-greene-heckling-bidens-sotu.html\u00a0\u2026— Kerry Wth \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 DM=block \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf34\ud83c\udf1e\ud83c\udf0f\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd \ud83c\udf2e (@Kerry Wth \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 DM=block \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf34\ud83c\udf1e\ud83c\udf0f\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd \ud83c\udf2e) 1646234624
Boebert and Greene tried to be cool by showing disrespect to President Biden during his #SOTU address. That's terrible enough, but they weren't just disrespecting Biden, they were disrespecting the Office of the Presidency. They don't belong in Congress.https://www.politicususa.com/2022/03/02/jen-psaki-has-the-perfect-response-to-boebert-and-greene-heckling-bidens-sotu.html\u00a0\u2026— Jeff Dannenberg (@Jeff Dannenberg) 1646234272
Jen Psaki denied Boebert and Greene the attention they craved and kept the focus on President Biden and the bipartisanship in the chamber.\n\nPsaki had the perfect response to deny Boebert and Greene any attention and elevation from the White House.— Resist hateful GOP policies (@Resist hateful GOP policies) 1646249532
Boebert and Greene have been roundly criticized by many in Washington, including Republican Senator John Thune, who called the pair's behavior last night "inappropriate" and disrespectful to the office of the Presidency.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram