Press Release: Van Orden once again embarrasses Western Wisconsin with an outburst during the State of the Union.
The 3rd Congressional District Democrats of Wisconsin are condemning the inappropriate outburst by Republican Representative Derrick Van Orden during Thursday’s State of the Union Address.
The State of the Union has a history as a time when political parties set aside their differences and met as a single body to discuss the health of our nation. In recent years, far-right politicians have been breaking with this history of decorum and attacking the President during his speech.
Last night, one of the prominent outbursts came from Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who yelled “Lies” while President Biden was discussing his predecessor’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ignoring calls from Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson that “Decorum was the order of the day,” Van Orden once demonstrated his lack of discipline and character on the national stage.
Per William Garcia, chair of the 3rd CD Democrats of Wisconsin, “This outburst is just the latest example of the weakness of Van Orden’s character. Wisconsin deserves representatives who treat their office with dignity and respect. Van Orden’s outburst shows he is unfit to hold this office.”
Van Orden’s outburst during the State of the Union joins numerous other examples of Van Orden’s inappropriate behavior. Earlier this year, he yelled and harassed teenage Senate pages in the Capitol Rotunda. He also verbally attacked Biden officials during an update on the war in Gaza. He is on probation for carrying a loaded gun onto a commercial flight while campaigning for his seat. He also verbally harassed a teenage library aide in his hometown of Prairie Du Chein. He was on the grounds of the capital during the January 6 “Stop the Steal” rally.