Does heckling help — or hurt — the GOP?

The sharpest opinions on the debate from around the web

Marjorie Taylor Greene.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Gettyimages)

House Republicans loudly booed President Biden in an openly confrontational response to his State of the Union address this week. "The raucous peals of 'liar,' 'that's not true' and at least one expletive lobbed at Mr. Biden during his 73-minute address dwarfed outbursts during previous such speeches, most of which have been interrupted by a single disturbance, if at all," according to The New York Times. House members were particularly vocal when Biden said some Republicans want to sunset Social Security and Medicare.

House Republicans are divided on whether the heckling "was inappropriate — or whether it helped them effectively communicate their position to the American public," according to The Hill. Some in the GOP say the shouting was necessary to push back against what they said was an unfair accusation by Biden that conservatives are out to take away Social Security and Medicare. They accuse Biden of "instigating" an outburst to "put Republicans in a bad light," The Hill said. Others think the uproar went too far. Did the heckling help the GOP, or hurt it?

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.