U.S. Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) confirmed in a Monday appearance on C-SPAN that he was not in attendance for the joint session of Congress to hear the State of the Union address delivered by President Joe Biden last week, citing his lack of respect for the 81-year-old president.
Asked about the State of the Union address Monday on The Washington Journal, Biggs characterized Biden’s remarks as “a campaign speech” before revealing he watched from his office and did not attend in person.
“I respect the office of the president, I do not respect Joe Biden.” Biggs explained, “I anticipated it would be kind of what it was, which was a campaign speech.”
The fourth-term congressman also questioned Biden’s decision to respond to hecklers in the crowd. Amid jeers from Republicans, the president paused his remarks to invoke the name of Laken Riley, the Georgia nursing student police say was killed by an illegal immigrant. Biden mispronounced her name as “Lincoln Riley” during the speech.
“I thought it was odd he would get into this back and forth with members,” said Biggs. He then noted, “I have been there for Joe Biden’s speeches and I have been there for Donald Trump’s speeches, and I’ve watched Democrats boo and heckle as well.”
Still, Biggs stressed, “I don’t want us to go to the British model, if you’ve ever watched a British session of parliament where there’s heckling and that type of stuff back and forth.” He acknowledged, “I think it’s entertaining, but I’m not sure that’s necessarily where we want to get.”
Earlier in his appearance, Biggs explained his support for former President Donald Trump’s third bid for the White House.
“I think we have to right the ship, I don’t think that when you have $35 in national debt, I don’t believe that’s a good thing,” said Biggs before pivoting to the border. “I can tell you, we’ve never seen the type of border activity that we see today, and it’s now spread throughout the country.”
The United States faces many challenges today.
We have to right the ship. pic.twitter.com/qmBp48Bgyy
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) March 11, 2024
Biggs was not the only lawmaker to sit out Biden’s speech, as Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) announced he was boycotting Biden’s remarks, arguing his attendance would “legitimize” the president’s dishonesty.
“This state of the union is a farce thanks to Joe Biden’s disgraceful job performance,” Vance said in a statement, adding that he is “not interested in legitimizing the president’s lies about the destruction his policies have caused for this country.”
While Biden received tough marks on his speech from Republicans, some Democrats are also upset the president referred to Riley’s killer as “an illegal,” with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lamenting Biden “should have said ‘undocumented.'”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Rep. Andy Biggs” by Rep. Andy Biggs and “SOTU” by POTUS.
