There was a time when presidential hecklers earned the disapproval of both the press and the public at large. Such a time was 2015, when then-President Barack Obama was in the middle of a speech commemorating LGBT Pride Month at the White House. A heckler interrupted and was promptly upbraided by Obama who admonished, “No, no no, no, no, no. Listen. You’re in my house.” The rest of those in attendance cheered, not even bothering to point out to the president that the White House is the people’s house, not the current president’s.
Flashforward to yesterday and another incident of presidential heckling. This time, the recipient was President Donald Trump. As he walked toward House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office in the Capitol, a female Heckler went full De Niro on him, yelling “Mr. President, F*ck you.”
As the following video captured by Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reveals, the incident got the attention of a member of the Secret Service and Capitol Police:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Congressional aide or intern yells “Mr President, f*%k you!” from across the Capitol Rotunda as he walks to the Speaker’s office before mtg with House GOPers on immigration. Gets attention of USCP/Secret Service pic.twitter.com/5Uarw4FTsw
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) June 19, 2018
Some in the media are eager to know the identity of the heckler, who has been identified as a congressional intern, although not to read her the riot act for her disrespectful action. Following the incident, senior HuffPost politics reporter Jennifer Bendery tweeted out:
Are you a congressional intern who shouted, “Mr. President, fuck you!”
If so, I’d love to hear from you. Jen.Bendery@huffpost.com
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) June 19, 2018
No doubt to shake her hand.
Some on the Left were more overt in their praise for the heckler. In a post titled “I Will Always Be Here for People Cussing Out Donald Trump in Public Spaces.” The Root’s Monique Judge wrote (h/t Joe Newby):
Now, before y’all start @-ing me on Twitter or writing long letters to your congressperson, I want to be perfectly clear that I am not calling for people to verbally assault our president; nor am I asking for anyone to be violent toward him. So please don’t bother emailing my bosses or Univision or anyone else telling that lie. That’s not what is happening here.
That said, I would like to take a moment to praise today’s hero. Not all heroes wear capes, and here is a perfect example of that.
Somehow one gets the impression she didn’t have the same reaction toward Obama’s heckler. Then again, it was a speech on LGBT pride.
