Lauren Boebert Interjects During Biden's State of the Union as He Talks About Veterans and His Late Son

Headline-making Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert let her voice be heard during President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday night when she interjected late into his remarks to criticize his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

It was a rare moment of open animosity during such speeches, where politicians typically show their displeasure by conspicuously choosing not to applaud.

Instead, Boebert spoke out while Biden was talking about increasing support for veterans — which he said was close to his heart as his older son, former National Guardsman Beau, died of brain cancer in 2015.

"Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan faced many dangers … When they came home, many of the world's fittest and best trained warriors were never the same. Headaches. Numbness. Dizziness. A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin," the president said. "I know. One of those soldiers was my son Maj. Beau Biden."

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As he spoke about veterans, Boebert was heard calling out "13 of them" — an apparent reference to the service-members killed in a suicide attack in the final days of the U.S. exit from Afghanistan last year.

The withdrawal was heavily criticized by some as poorly planned, though Biden repeatedly defended his decision to end a conflict that had become divisive in America. He said he would not put further military lives at risk remaining in the country.

NBC reported that Boebert and fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has frequently courted controversy herself with a similarly provocative style, kept up "something of a running commentary" during Biden's speech that was "clearly audible" to reporters.

Boebert and Greene also were heard trying to chant "build the wall" when immigration was raised, according to Reuters.

Elsewhere during Tuesday's speech, some Republicans booed when Biden referenced tax cuts passed when they controlled Congress, which he said favored the wealthy.