Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert heckled president Joe Biden throughout his first State of the Union address on Tuesday, provoking anger for the disrespect and breach of decorum.
A photo comparing the two Republican leaders to vice president Kamala Harris and House speaker Nancy Pelosi went viral online with commentators pointing out the difference between the two groups of women.
Ms Taylor Greene and Ms Boebert chanted “build the wall” incessantly as Mr Biden discussed the need for the US to “secure our border and fix the immigration system”. He responded, ad-libbing the line: “As you might guess I think we can do both.”
Ms Boebert drew more outrage after she heckled Mr Biden once more during a passage of his speech referencing his late son, Delaware attorney general and Army National Guard Major Beau Biden, and the military burn pits which may have played a role in his developing the brain tumour that killed him in 2015.
The president, however, did not flinch and carried on.
The two Republicans breached protocol and kept muttering throughout Mr Biden’s hour-long speech. Ms Greene also pulled faces during the president’s address.
When the president entered the chamber to give his address, he was greeted with a massive round of applause but Ms Greene and Ms Boebert either turned their back on him as he entered the chamber, or “appeared slightly lost”, according to some observers.
Social media users were quick to notice these behaviours.
Political commentator Ana Navarro-Cárdenas shared a photo comparing the two Democrats – Ms Harris and Ms Pelosi – with the Republicans and captioned it: “Women Making History Month vs Crazy Screaming Banshee Month”.
Hundreds of people quote-tweeted the photo and made other comparisons such as “Confident Power vs Desperate Attention Seeking” and “Class versus Crass”.
One user said: “Colorado, Georgia. This is who you elected to represent you? What a disgrace.”
Another user said: “You have to act like a role model so the young can learn properly.”
Others observed: “Boebert and Greene…come on GOP…seriously?? Have you run out of educated, articulate and decent women in your party?”
Meanwhile, Mr Biden during his address expressed solidarity with the people of Ukraine and said: “Let each of us here tonight in this chamber, if you’re able to stand, stand and send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world.”
“In the battle between democracy and autocracies, democracies are rising to the moment and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security. This is the real test,” Mr Biden added.
