He was then interrupted by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who yelled, “You put them there. Thirteen of them!”
“One of those soldiers was my son, Major Beau Biden,” the president continued.
Democrats immediately booed Boebert, and one of them shouted, “Kick her out!” Neither Boebert nor the White House responded to messages from The Washington Post following the incident.
The outburst was not the only tense moment of the night. Some in the chamber — including Boebert and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — seemed to mock the president as he went on with his speech. Both laughed at some lines, uttered retorts and live-tweeted the event.
“Here’s another way to fight inflation,” Boebert wrote on Twitter. “Resign.”
She later tweeted, “You fired our troops. Don’t ever act like you support them.”
Greene also critiqued Biden’s speech in several tweets.
“Joe Biden wants us to tackle ‘mental health.’ I agree. We must start with the presidency,” Greene wrote.
By the end of the address, Boebert tweeted, “When Biden said flag draped coffins I couldn’t stay silent. I told him directly he did it. He put 13 in there. Our heroic servicemen and women deserve so much better.”
When Biden said flag draped coffins I couldn’t stay silent. I told him directly he did it. He put 13 in there.
Our heroic servicemen and women deserve so much better.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) March 2, 2022
Matt Viser and Marianna Sotomayor contributed to this report.