World News: Boebert's SOTU heckle disrespected the president and veterans like me

Wednesday, March 2

In his State of the Union address on March 1, 2022, President Joe Biden says millions of new jobs were created in 2021.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, unity and inflation: A State of the Union recap

A round-up of voices on State of the Union:

Today's newsletter is being sent in the morning so you can catch up on a variety of voices on last night's State of the Union address from President Joe Biden. We're leading the newsletter with a column from Eileen Rivers, a USA TODAY Editor and U.S. Army Veteran. Rivers writes about her anger toward Rep. Lauren Boebert's heckling of the president as he spoke about dead service members and veterans.

Rep. Boebert's SOTU heckle disrespected president, veterans like me

By Eileen Rivers

How disconcerting. How angering. How disappointing.

During his first State of the Union address Tuesday, as President Joe Biden spoke about coffins, dead veterans and the passing of his son, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., found a way to lower America's discourse, and sow the very division Biden spent much of his speech pushing against.

She heckled the president.

She bragged about her comment – a scream from the House floor – on Twitter: "When Biden said flag draped coffins I couldn't stay silent. I told him directly he did it. He put 13 in there." She's referring to 13 service members who died as the United States was evacuating Americans and allies from Afghanistan last summer.

The congresswoman's comments about a 20-year war perpetuated by leaders in both parties were misleading and lacked context. She not only lowered discourse, she disrespected the office of the presidency.

I am a veteran. I spent four years of my life in the Army as an Arabic linguist. I come from a family of veterans.

And I am angry.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., left, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., right, scream "Build the Wall" as President Joe Biden delivers his first State of the Union address.

Evelyn Hockstein, AP

Biden's weak State of the Union will be forgotten quickly

By Scott Jennings

President Joe Biden's State of the Union address offered a chance for a flagging presidency to reset and pivot, perhaps giving his party a new message to sell in the upcoming midterms.

But for Democrats, the chance was missed. The president offered nothing new. In fact, if you had seen no news about this presidency and just watched the speech cold Tuesday night, you might assume that, politically, everything is fine for Biden.

But the reality is much different. Biden's approval ratings in many national polls are in the upper 30s, low 40s, a terrible omen for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. Many generic ballots show Republicans with huge leads, which portends the possibility of a wave that ushers Republicans into office who never even dreamed they had a chance when they filed to run.

Biden's State of the Union speech encouraged Americans to unite

By Rex Huppke

President Joe Biden used his State of the Union address Tuesday night to promote unity. I found that very divisive.

This is America, not some "united" collection of states in America. I don't need a liberal cramming his so-called unity agenda down my throat. My throat is very busy yelling loudly about things that make me angry, like everything.

Rather than do exactly what my conservative media ecosystem told me he would do, which was stand at the dais like a caricature and snark and sneer and prattle off some radical agenda, Biden sneakily spoke about Americans coming together, uniting against tyranny abroad and embracing policies that are widely popular.