‘Heckling’ at State of the Union Addresses

A day after several Republicans interrupted President Joe Biden’s second State of the Union address with loud jeering, a Democratic leader said he couldn’t “remember a Democrat ever heckling a president in a State of the Union.” But the Democrats have voiced displeasure with a Republican president at such events on several occasions, dating to at least 2005.

“I don’t remember. The South Carolina Democrat continued: “We may show disassociation with, unappreciated-ness of. We may do it with a smile or not smile, facial expressions. I’ll sometimes do it with my head … bow my head to pray, and I sometimes shake my head to say I don’t agree. But to heckle, I mean, that’s not the way adults act. You let the president have his say. You show your disapproval, but you don’t heckle.”