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At several points during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech, a number of Democrats stood up and yelled something at Trump, but it was hard to hear. Then later, others seemed to try to yell out but Nancy Pelosi quieted them. And at yet another time, a protester was escorted out. What were they saying? Here’s what we know so far.
At One Point, Democrats Were Yelling About Trump’s Healthcare Comments
There was some confusion online about exactly what the Democrats were yelling, but it appears that the Democrats’ shouts were related to Trump’s comments about healthcare. Some of the confusion online stemmed from Democrats’ yelling at different times during Trump’s speech.
Buzzfeed News reported that they were yelling “You, You, You!” when Trump said “There are ones that want to take away your healthcare.”
“There are ones that want to take away your healthcare,” says Trump and Dems respond with a scattered “You, YOU, You, YOU, You, YOU, You.”
At a different time, Democrats were also yelling “HR 3” in response to Trump speaking about prescription drugs.
Note: This story originally was worded in a way where it appeared people were confused about whether Democrats were yelling “you” or “HR 3.” These were two different instances that happened during the State of the Union. Kadia Goba from BuzzFeed News reached out to Heavy and helpfully noted this clarification.
Here is Goba’s tweet about the second instance:
“HR2, HR3, HR3” Dems chant in response to the president’s chatter on prescription drug prices. The chant comes after several members laughed when Trump first brought up the topic.
Here’s another tweet about the HR3 moment during the State of the Union.
What were they yelling? #SOTU
Some of the people in the crowd were holding their hands to indicate the number three.
Democrats are yelling “HR 3,” the House Democratic bill on drug prices. #SOTU
HR 3 is the House Democratic bill on drug prices, so that is another possible interpretation of what they were saying. Some people online tweeted and wondered what was said because they could not hear the words “HR 3.”
#SOTU Democrats are yelling “HR 3,” the House Democratic bill on drug prices
Here’s the video of one of the instances. You can watch and decide for yourself what they were saying. Some say they were saying “You Lie!” and others said it was “HR3!”
Some said that because it was hard to understand what they were saying, they didn’t get their point across sufficiently.
Whatever they were yelling didn’t make their point. No one knows what they said 🤷🏻♀️ #SOTU
Whatever exactly they were saying, the two instances were obviously related to Trump’s comments about healthcare.
Why were they hold up “3” and yelling? #SOTU
Nancy Pelosi Quieted Other Hecklers
At other points during the speech, Pelosi appeared to quiet hecklers who started to shout.
Pelosi just went full principal mode to figure out who was yelling in the chamber #sotu
The tweet above notices one moment when she shook her finger at a heckler, seemingly telling them to be quiet.
Is Nancy having to quiet house members from yelling during the STOU? #SOTU
Fred Guttenberg Was Applauded
One man who yelled was escorted out at one point and Democrats applauded him as he left.
It was later revealed that a protester who was escorted out was Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed in the Parkland shooting.
Here’s a video of when he was escorted out. Many Democrats applauded him.
.@fred_guttenberg is a National hero tonight for standing up in the House chamber to confront Trump’s lies, and to the @GOP that bows down to the gun lobby & @NRA. #GunControlNow #SOTU
Guttenberg’s daughter was just 14 when she died. She was six months into her freshman year at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Earlier in the Evening, Trump Didn’t Shake Pelosi’s Hand
Earlier in the evening before he gave his speech, Trump didn’t shake Pelosi’s hand when she offered it to him. It’s not known if he did that on purpose or if he didn’t see her extend her hand.
Here’s a video of that moment when it happened.
Did Trump snub the Nancy Pelosi handshake on purpose?
And another angle.
Nancy Pelosi went in for the handshake aaaaand….Trump ignored it.
And yet another angle.
Everyone expected things to be tense, since Pelosi has been pushing for the Senate to vote to remove Trump from office after she successfully led the House to impeach him. But the Senate will likely not get enough votes for Trump to be removed since the Republicans have the majority. So sometimes during the speech tonight, those tensions are spilling out in expected or unexpected ways.
And the opinions shared on Twitter about what happens really depends on what side people are on.
Look at how different supporters’ takes are depending on who they support. Here’s a tweet from a Pelosi supporter.
I love Nancy Pelosi. She stuck out here hand knowing full well trump wouldn’t shake it to make trump look like the petty and small man he is. #SOTU2020
And here’s a tweet from a Trump supporter.
Nancy Pelosi has spent 3 years trying to impeach President Trump
Meanwhile, he has led the Great American Comeback and restored the United States of America to greatness
She has opposed him every step of the way
She doesn’t deserve a handshake
Although it may not be 100 percent clear what the Democrats were yelling at Trump, their words were another part of a very tense-filled evening for both Democrats and Republicans.
This is a developing story.