Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Thursday that, contrary to what House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has advised, members of the GOP might "automatically" laugh at President Joe Biden during his State of the Union speech tonight.
The Texas congressman was discussing the idea of Republican House members laughing every time Biden speaks during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show."
"We may not have to act like it," Williams said. "It may be automatically that we laugh at it because some of his ideas, all of his ideas, are laughable, aren't they? But also, the longer we laugh, the less he'll speak probably, or the longer he'll have to be up there. That might have a dual purpose in it."
The idea contradicts the guidance Johnson gave to GOP lawmakers earlier in the week about proper conduct during the address.
Three Republican lawmakers told The Hill that Johnson emphasized the importance of behaving appropriately during a closed-door meeting of the Republican conference on Wednesday morning.
"Decorum is the order of the day," Johnson stressed, calling on members to comport themselves with dignity, according to meeting attendees.
There were disruptions during last year's State of the Union from GOP members, including heckling and interruptions of Biden's speech. When he spoke about Social Security and Medicare, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., called the president a "liar."
There is a history of heckling during State of the Union addresses. In 2009, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shouted "you lie" at then-President Barack Obama during his speech to the nation.
"We don't need to be shrill ... we need to base things upon policy, upon facts, upon reality of situations," one Republican lawmaker who was present at Johnson's meeting said.
"Let them do the gaslighting," the lawmaker added. "Let them do the blaming. I think the American people know who is responsible for the many worldwide crises that we have."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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