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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed two Republicans who briefly interrupted President Joe Biden during his State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.
While speaking to reporters, Pelosi slammed GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Pelosi also said that she wanted the two Republicans to “shut up.”
Below is a transcript of the exchange:
Pelosi: “Yes, ma’am.”
REPORTER: “Madam Speaker, we saw the State of the Union, no masks there. We saw the guidance come down on Capitol Hill. Is it time to reopen the Capitol to visitors? And could this be the last extension of proxy voting in the House.”
Pelosi: “No, the — that — that’s up to the Capitol physician. We take all of our guidance from there, including opening the House. I think you’ll see an unfolding now of the Capitol opening. It’s — it’s about Covid, and it’s about security. Mostly it’s about Covid, though. And so that will be up to the Sergeant at Arms and it will be up to the Capitol physician, and we just take our guidance from them. I mean, we were very fortunate that they came to the conclusion that all members could participate in — in the State of the Union address but it was up to them. We — we could not make that call. Yeah?”
REPORTER: “Madam Speaker —“
UNKNOWN MALE: “Last question.”
REPORTER: “— on the State of the Union. We did see numerous outbursts from Representative Boebert and Green during President Biden speech. As I’m sure you probably remember, when Congressman Joe Wilson yelled, ‘You lie,’ at President Obama in 2009, the House actually passed a resolution of disapproval on that. We haven’t heard him talk about now, but I’m wondering just what is your reaction to those outbursts? Should they actually be taken in the end? What does it say about —“ [crosstalk]
Pelosi: “Let me just say this, I agree with what Senator Lindsey Graham said, ‘Shut up!’ That’s what he said to them. I think they should just shut up. Thank you all.”
WATCH:
The disruption came when Biden was speaking about better care for veterans, particularly those suffering from cancers that are believed to be related to exposure to the toxic fumes from burn pits.
During his address on Tuesday night, Biden said: “Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan faced many dangers. One was stationed at bases and breathing in toxic smoke from ‘burn pits’ that incinerated wastes of war—medical and hazard material, jet fuel, and more. When they came home, many of the world’s fittest and best-trained warriors were never the same. Headaches. Numbness. Dizziness. A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin —”
Biden was interrupted by Boebert, who shouted: “You put them in, 13 of them!”
She was referring to 13 service members who were killed in the Kabul attack while they assisted with the evacuation of Afghanistan.
Boebert also went viral for showing up to Biden’s State of the Union Address wearing a dress adorned with three words that are critical of his energy policies.
Boebert’s black outfit featured three words in gold lettering: “Drill baby, drill” — a slap at Biden’s reversals of Trump-era policies aimed at harvesting more U.S.-based fossil fuels, which led to the country becoming energy independent for the first time in decades.
Also, the stunt came as gas prices hit a seven-year high this week; “notably, Biden has canceled the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and recently halted new oil and gas leases indefinitely,” The Daily Wire reported.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) approvingly posted a photo of the Colorado Republican’s outfit to Twitter.
My friend @laurenboebert at #SOTU
Drill Baby Drill! pic.twitter.com/iW1yV1gju4
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 2, 2022
As for Biden’s speech, it did not appear to help him or his Democratic Party much, according to mainstream outlets that are normally friendly to the left.
According to CNN, Biden’s “very positive” reaction rating was the lowest it’s been for a president in more than two decades.
“A 71% majority of Americans who watched President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address had a positive reaction to the speech, according to a CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, with a more modest 41% reacting very positively,” the network reported Wednesday morning.
