Kyrsten Sinema rips State of the Union hecklers as ‘beneath the dignity’ of Congress

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Thursday lambasted Republicans for jeering President Biden during his State of the Union address, saying that the formal annual event has “devolved into a junior high softball game.”

But the Arizona independent, who described the shouting and booing from Republicans as “disturbing and sad,” also made clear that her criticism cuts across party lines. She switched from the Democratic Party last December.

“Everyone is raucous, and I was worried people were going to start throwing hotdogs and popcorn at each other,” Ms. Sinema said during a Washington Post Live event. “To be honest, I find it beneath the dignity of the United States Congress. And what I find most disturbing about it, is the fact that it’s normalized.”

She added that while there were “members of the Republican Party who engaged in behavior that I thought was not becoming of elected officials in our country, there are also members of the Democratic Party who would hiss or chant as well” in years past.

The Tuesday evening speech given to a joint session Congress was at times reminiscent of the loud and chaotic British House of Commons, with Republican firebrands like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia yelling out “liar” at Mr. Biden.

Such outbursts have become commonplace — from both political parties — in recent State of the Union addresses since Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican, yelled “you lie” at President Barack Obama in 2009. The incident was met with condemnation followed by an apology from Mr. Wilson, but the political arena has since largely become numb to such outbursts.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, was seen at times trying to shush his outspoken member, to little avail.

“You can disagree with someone without being disagreeable,” Ms. Sinema said. “I can say to someone, ‘I don’t agree with your opinion, I’m going to try to defeat you on this piece of legislation.’ But I believe that you can do so in a way that is respectful, that is dignified and that understands that someone’s point of view, even if it’s different than your own, comes from their own understanding and their own experience.”