The hosts of The View on Wednesday tore into far-right GOP lawmakers Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene for heckling President Joe Biden during Tuesday’s State of the Union, with moderator Whoopi Goldberg issuing the strongest admonishment.
“Who the hell do you think you are, little girl?!” Goldberg shouted at one point, taking specific aim at Boebert for shouting at Biden as the president invoked his deceased son.
Throughout Tuesday night’s presidential address, the two QAnon-curious congresswomen repeatedly engaged in antics meant to draw attention to themselves, such as futilely attempting to start a “Build the Wall!” chant and turning their backs when the president entered the chambers. Greene, fresh off speaking at a white nationalist event, was seen at one point mouthing that Biden is “a fucking idiot” as the president spoke.
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It was Boebert’s actions, however, that have drawn the most notice and condemnation. In a moment that went far beyond GOP Rep. Joe Wilson’s infamous 2009 “you lie” outburst, the MAGA-boosting congresswoman yelled that Biden had put Americans in flag-draped coffins.
Her shouted remarks—which drew boos from her Democratic colleagues—came as Biden spoke about soldiers who have suffered from toxic exposure to burn pits while mentioning his dead son Beau, a military veteran who died of brain cancer.
During Wednesday's broadcast of the ABC talk show, co-host Sara Haines said she had “never seen it that easy before” during a presidential address. At the same time, she contrasted the Trumpist duo’s actions with world affairs at large.
“On the heels of this war with Ukraine and Russia, I thought thank God I can roll my eyes at Marjorie Taylor Greene and yet continue to value that freedom to do exactly that in the chambers,” she said, prompting fellow host Sunny Hostin to agree.
“People have the freedom in this country to be classless and tacky,” Hostin declared.
“Listen, Lauren, you’re in the United States Congress,” liberal co-host Joy Behar weighed in. “You’re not doing a midnight set at Chuckles!”
Noting that Boebert has not only been unapologetic about her behavior but has doubled down on her remarks, Goldberg wondered if the first-term congresswoman “doesn’t understand” that “a whole lot of folks” have died in military action for “no good reason” over the past decade.
“Soldiers know what’s coming,” she continued. “They don’t want to die, and what you should do is you should have let [Biden] say what he had to say, and if you were going to yell something out, just hold off. Hold off, but don’t do it there because we’re trying to hear it and we're talking about you instead!”
Former NFL sideline reporter turned right-wing political pundit Michele Tafoya, in her second stint as guest co-host, chalked up the pro-Trump lawmaker’s actions to the desire to make “everything political” in order to “stand out” and “be viral.”
As Hostin insisted that there needs to be “decorum” at the State of the Union, Tafoya pointed out that she didn’t support Boebert’s heckling.
“I'm not forgiving it. I'm not forgiving it, Sunny,” the ex-NBC sports reporter proclaimed. “I think it was totally inappropriate.”
After Hostin snarked that Greene needed to “spend less time at white nationalist events,” Goldberg—who recently returned from a suspension over her controversial Holocaust remarks—wrapped up the segment with a passionate rebuke of Boebert.
Noting that the Colorado lawmaker had previously opposed military funding for purely partisan reasons, she then compared Boebert’s actions to that of former President Donald Trump.
“You can’t do what they do. That’s why we revere them because they do the stuff we can’t do,” the Oscar-winning actress exclaimed. “And the minute you poop on them, you poop on them like the last guy did, talking about those Gold Star families, talking about Mr. McCain as not being a hero. Who the hell do you think you are, little girl?! Who do you think you are?”
She concluded: “You don’t have to like this president to be respectful of him talking about the military and his son, who died. You don’t have to do that. You don't have to like him, but you must be respectful. You got to be!”
