Protesters interrupt Leon Panetta at the DNC: 'No more war!'
During a Democratic convention address by former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on Wednesday, delegates interrupted him several times with chants of "no more war!" He appeared confused and uncertain how to respond, and ended up pausing his speech for a moment. A second chant of "lies, lies!" started up slightly later, which was drowned out by a counter-chant of "USA, USA!"
Panetta is a longstanding fixture of the Washington foreign policy establishment, and his speech focused on how Donald Trump's bizarre antics make him a questionable choice to become president. But he's also hawkish on the military, and his speech also argued that America should not "withdraw from the world." That is usually code for continued police actions and drone strikes around the globe, and predictably riled up the antiwar faction in the party.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
How dangerous is the ‘K’ strain super-flu?The Explainer Surge in cases of new variant H3N2 flu in UK and around the world
-
Who is The Liz Truss Show for?Talking Point Former PM’s new weekly programme is like watching her ‘commit a drive-by on herself’
-
Codeword: December 9, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Trump’s Comey case dealt new setbackspeed read A federal judge ruled that key evidence could not be used in an effort to reindict former FBI Director James Comey
-
Moscow cheers Trump’s new ‘America First’ strategyspeed read The president’s national security strategy seeks ‘strategic stability’ with Russia
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
-
Boat strike footage rattles some lawmakersSpeed Read ‘Disturbing’ footage of the Sept. 2 attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat also shows the second strike that killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
