In anticipation of President Trump’s first joint session of Congress address since assuming office in January, we provide a selection of the most outrageous moments from previous presidents’ such remarks.
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) goes over party line to publicly support Trump in 2018
A former Democratic senator from West Virginia named Joe Manchin went popular online after standing to support President Trump’s policy proposals while his fellow Democrats sat in the chamber and after he became an independent.
That’s how my upbringing in West Virginia was. “We have respect,” Manchin stated in reference to his behavior during Trump’s inaugural State of the Union speech. “Civility is not entirely absent at this point. This is not the place for rudeness.
Republicans in the audience boo as President Biden criticizes GOP legislators in 2023 address.
“Some of my Republican friends want to take the economy hostage — I get it — unless I agree to their economic plans,” Biden told Congress, evoking a shake of the head from then-GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, shouts from the crowd, and shots of other Republicans shaking their heads.
“Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans, some Republicans, want Medicare and Social Security to sunset,” Biden added, prompting McCarthy to shake her head even more firmly and mouth “no” in response to the Republicans’ sustained jeers.
When Biden went on to remark, “I’m not saying it’s the majority,” the already-booing audience grew even louder.
Please contact my office if you have any doubts. I will provide it to you. With the crowd’s yelling getting louder, Biden went on to declare, “I’ll give you a copy — I’ll give you a copy of the proposal,” as Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene rose up and made an angry gesture. “That means Congress doesn’t vote — I’m glad to see — no, I tell you, I enjoy conversion.”
From that point on, Republican indignation repeatedly cut into Biden’s remarks, further degrading it.
When Reagan unexpectedly acknowledges an audience member for the first time, it shocks everyone.
Although acknowledging audience members in presidential speeches to joint sessions of Congress has became standard practice in recent years, it was initially implemented during President Ronald Reagan’s 1982 address.
Reagan delivered his address only weeks after 78 people lost their lives in an accident involving Air Florida Flight 90, which had fallen into the Potomac River and Washington’s 14th Street Bridge immediately after takeoff.
Lenny Skutnik, an assistant at the Congressional Budget Office, jumped into the freezing waters after removing his shoes and clothing in order to save three others who had been trapped in the plane.
The practice of recognizing audience members, such as Skutnik, became increasingly prevalent in subsequent Reagan speeches.
“Just 2 weeks ago, in the midst of a terrible tragedy on the Potomac, we saw again the spirit of American heroism at its finest — the heroism of dedicated rescue workers saving crash victims from icy waters,” added the president. “And we saw the heroism of one of our young government employees, Lenny Skutnik, who, when he saw a woman lose her grip on the helicopter line, dived into the water and dragged her to safety.”
Boebert questions Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan at his 2022 speech
Republican Representative Lauren Boebert yelled at Biden as he mentioned the 13 service members from Afghanistan who died after being exposed to hazardous burn pits. Boebert brought up the 13 American servicemen and women who lost their lives in 2021 during Biden’s ill-planned pullout from Afghanistan.
Supporters of Boebert’s “Drill Baby Drill” attire, which she wore to protest Biden’s energy policy, booed her when she lost her composure.
When Biden brought up immigration again, Boebert and Greene began yelling “build the wall” in response.
“You lie!” Rep. Joe Wilson shouts at President Obama.
Although it was considerably more commonplace now, South Carolina Republican Congressman Joe Wilson’s 2009 interruption of President Obama’s State of the Union speech stands out as one of the most notorious SOTU outbursts.
“Some argue that our reform initiative will cover undocumented immigrants,” Obama remarked, referring to his contentious Obamacare proposal. “Even this is not true. Individuals in this country unlawfully would not be subject to the changes I am recommending.
“You lie!” Members of the crowd began shouting in response to Wilson’s booming voice from his place on the Republican side of the floor.
After the fact, Wilson expressed regret to Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff.
“This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the president’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill,” Wilson said in a letter to the editor. It is unfortunate that my remarks were unsuitable, but I do not agree with the president’s stance. I really regret the rudeness and offer my deepest apologies to the president.
Over Trump’s 2020 address, Pelosi rips it apart.
In February 2020, after President Trump ended his State of the Union address, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped up and ripped his speech to shreds, setting up a social media firestorm and cementing her place in internet lore.
In an interview with AWN conducted after the fact, Pelosi explained her actions by saying, “Because it was the courteous thing to do considering the alternatives.” “I ripped it up,” she continued. Just one page with some truth on it would do. How could I?
The Senate acquitted Trump the day after Pelosi’s address, after his first impeachment trial.
Among the only remaining Tuskegee Airmen, Speaker Pelosi just tore him to shreds. Whether a baby delivered at 21 weeks gets to live. The Mueller and Jones families are grieving the loss of their loved ones. Bringing a soldier back together with his loved ones. “That’s her legacy,” the White House tweeted following Pelosi’s ripping apart of the speech, citing individuals addressed by Trump.
