Gun rights advocate and anti vaxxer Republican Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado is in hot water after several screaming outbursts during Democratic President Joe Biden's State of the Union address last night.
As Biden spoke of his late son Beau, a military veteran who died of brain cancer in 2015, Boebert shouted from the floor about 13 American soldiers who died in a terror attack during last year's military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The moment drew wide condemnation both online and within the House chamber, where she was booed for her inappropriate outburst.
But Boebert doubled down, reiterating her blame of Biden for the deaths on Twitter.
See her tweets below.
When Biden said flag draped coffins I couldn't stay silent. I told him directly he did it. He put 13 in there. \n\nOur heroic servicemen and women deserve so much better.— Lauren Boebert (@Lauren Boebert) 1646192592
Boebert tweeted:
"When Biden said flag draped coffins I couldn't stay silent. I told him directly he did it. He put 13 in there."
"Our heroic servicemen and women deserve so much better."
Missing from Boebert's outbursts, as always, was context.
The chaos of the Afghanistan withdrawal that resulted in those 13 deaths was partly caused by her beloved former Republican President Donald Trump's incompetent handling of the negotiations with the Taliban on which Biden's withdrawal of troops was based. Even Republicans in Washington have laid part of the blame for the debacle that ensued at Trump's feet.
Boebert is uninterested in facts.
She followed up with another tersely worded tweet.
The left is pissed because I called out Biden's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan that left 13 of America\u2019s finest in a flag-draped coffin. \n\nThey are mad because a speech was \u201cinterrupted\u201d. \n\nAsk the the families who lost their loved ones how interrupted their lives are now.— Lauren Boebert (@Lauren Boebert) 1646229605
Boebert's outburst and subsequent tweets were in reference to a moment when Biden announced plans to provide greater healthcare and monetary support to combat veterans sickened by exposure to toxic chemicals in burn pits.
Biden described the impact of the exposure in his speech.
"They come home, many of the world's fittest and best-trained warriors in the world, never the same. Headaches, numbness, dizziness. A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin.”
As Biden explained how this is a personal issue for him because his son's brain cancer—one commonly seen among service members—is believed to have been caused by burn-pit exposure, Boebert could no longer contain herself.
Heckling from the House floor, she screamed at the President to blame him for the 13 deaths in Afghanistan.
Here's the moment where Lauren Boebert was booed for shouting that Biden put soldiers in flag-draped coffins -- all while the president was talking about his veteran son dying of cancer and how it potentially could have been due to burn pits.pic.twitter.com/fJzsPwkQza— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1646190965
On Biden's "flag-draped coffin" line, Boebert heckled:
“You put them in, 13 of them!"
She was immediately booed by her colleagues.
Even former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh—infamous for heckling Democratic President Barack Obama by shouting "You lie!" during one of his State of the Union speeches—lamented the moment on Twitter.
Respectfully @jaketapper, this IS a different era. An era that was inevitable. And many people, myself included, brought us to this uglier, uber-partisan era. Our politics has been broken for a long time. And our politicians, both R & D, have never gotten that. So here we are.https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1499011367000584199\u00a0\u2026— Joe Walsh (@Joe Walsh) 1646236055
Boebert's comments were not well received on Twitter either.
She was excoriated for her hypocritical outbursts by military veterans among others.
President Biden lost his veteran son due to cancer that may very likely be attributed to the burn pits he was addressing. You interrupted not only the President of the United States during the State of the Union, but a grieving father speaking to a very personal topic.https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1499021731553587204\u00a0\u2026— VoteVets (@VoteVets) 1646236457
I'm pissed you convinced someone to take your GED exam so you would have a HS diploma. I served in the #USNAVY and my family has 150+ years of service to our country. You dishonor my family, uncles, aunts, dads, moms & fellow #veterans when you spit on their sacrifice. #nc08https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1499021731553587204\u00a0\u2026— Scott Huffman for NC \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2 (@Scott Huffman for NC \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2) 1646236884
You heckled President Biden over his dead son who died from cancer from the burn pits. You're a monster. Minority @GOPLeader is no leader either. \n\nBoebert is a traitor to American troops, American people and on January 6th she tweeted out the Speakers location.https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1499021731553587204\u00a0\u2026— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8DaleWillResist\ud83d\udce3 (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8DaleWillResist\ud83d\udce3) 1646237508
Want to know what's wrong with America?\n\nHere it is. No class. No respect.https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1499021731553587204\u00a0\u2026— Rick Smith (@Rick Smith) 1646233545
You heckled remarks about burn pit exposure, an urgent health issue for post 9/11 veterans. \n\nYou can\u2019t honor the memory of 13 service members killed in action by disrespecting the memory and suffering of countless others who have and will be affected by burn pit exposure.https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1499021731553587204\u00a0\u2026— Brianna Keilar (@Brianna Keilar) 1646234995
Lauren how much of your one million dollars that your husband made off oil and gas "consulting" have you donated to Veterans?\nhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/19/boebert-energy-financial-disclosure/\u00a0\u2026\nLauren Boebert failed to disclose husband Jayson Boebert's energy ...pic.twitter.com/D0xlB5Movf— Rhonda Harbison (@Rhonda Harbison) 1646232888
Lauren Boebert is a national embarassment.— Jack Cocchiarella (@Jack Cocchiarella) 1646234775
Both parties booed at you you disrespectful self centered bimbo clown.pic.twitter.com/QJYY5PbUe7— Danielle (@Danielle) 1646235437
The president was talking about his dead soldier son. You and @RepMTG were a national disgrace tonight. But worse \u2014 because you are irrelevant \u2014 Kevin McCarthy owns all of this. He won\u2019t condemn you because he is a colossal coward.https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1498866487611830275\u00a0\u2026— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@Rep. Eric Swalwell) 1646199329
Dear @laurenboebert: ISIS killed the 13 heroic U.S. servicemembers in 2021 in Afghanistan. Between 2017 and 2020, there were 44 heroic U.S. servicemembers killed in Afghanistan.\n\nRemember who are enemies are. At the end of the day, we are all Americans.https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1498866487611830275\u00a0\u2026— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1646200126
What really gets me\u2026Bobo used those 13 men & women as pawns in her nasty, no-home training, disrespectful outburst. If she was concerned about veterans vs being disrespectful to POTUS\u2026she would have screamed out for all vets\u2026including the 1s that died on 45**\u2019s watch. https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1498866487611830275\u00a0\u2026— Miss Aja (@Miss Aja) 1646238193
Biden's comment about service members wasn't the only section during which Boebert heckled the President.
She and QAnon conspiracy theory spewing Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia also tried to get a chant of "Build the wall!" going when Biden mentioned immigration.
Nobody joined them.
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC