Republicans’ taunts of President Biden with shouts of “liar” and other back-and-forth exchanges during the State of the Union address Tuesday were the latest in what is becoming increasingly common heckling during the annual prime-time political exercise.
When Mr. Biden lamented the rising number of Americans dying of fentanyl overdoses, a Republican lawmaker shouted, “It’s your fault!” Other GOP lawmakers called out “Border!” They were referring to what they say are the administration’s lax border security policies that allow smugglers to bring the deadly drug into the U.S.
In one of several spirited back-and-forth exchanges with the Democratic president, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, and others called out “liar” when Mr. Biden accused some in the GOP of trying to cut entitlement benefits.
Some other high-profile flareups during past State of the Union addresses include:
— In 2022, Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colorado Republican, heckled Mr. Biden about the U.S. service members killed during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Mr Biden was speaking about veterans exposed to “toxic burn pits” that could cause cancer and might “put them in a flag-draped coffin.”
“You put them in, 13 of them,” Ms. Boebert called out, referring to the service members killed in a terror attack during the evacuation mission at the airport in Kabul. She and Ms. Greene also started a chant of “Build the wall!” when Mr. Biden spoke about the border.
— In 2020, Democratic Reps. Tim Ryan of Ohio, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Bill Pascrell Jr. of New Jersey walked out of President Donald Trump’s speech. At least 10 other House Democrats boycotted the address. Ms. Tlaib later described Mr. Trump’s speech as “beneath the dignity of the office.”
— Also in 2020, Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a grand show on camera of ripping in half, page by page, a paper copy of Mr. Trump’s speech immediately after he finished his remarks. Asked by a reporter what she thought of the address, Mrs. Pelosi said, “I tore it up.”
— And yet again in 2020, Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter was killed in the Parkland, Florida, school shooting, yelled out from the public gallery after Mr. Trump defended gun rights. He was removed by a plainclothes police officer.
— In 2010, Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. mouthed the words “not true” President Obama chastised the high court’s Citizens United ruling regarding federal campaign finance rules. The president said the decision “reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests – including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections.”
— In 2009, Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican, shouted “You lie!” at Mr. Obama when the president stated that Obamacare coverage “would not apply to those who are here illegally.”
At the time of Mr. Wilson’s outburst, it was considered such a rare occurrence that there was talk of disciplining the lawmaker. He was in the chamber Tuesday night for Mr. Biden’s address.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.