Biden Reacts to Heckler in Labor Day Speech: ‘Everybody’s Entitled to Be an Idiot’

Rita LiSeptember 6, 2022

President Joe Biden called a heckler at a rally in Milwaukee an “idiot” on Monday, after the man shouted during the president’s speech.

Biden made his Labor Day appearance in battleground state Wisconsin and delivered a speech at Milwaukee Laborfest, where labor unions and their members gather annually.

Addressing hundreds of leaders and advocates, the president expressed his support for unions and lauded administrative successes. But a lone man in the audience cut in with loud angry remarks, drawing the president’s attention.

“No, no, no, don’t—let him go,” Biden reacted to the interruption. “Look, everybody’s entitled to be an idiot,” the president continued, as the crowd applauded and cheered in approval.

Security soon escorted the man out.

A man who heckled President Joe Biden as he spoke is removed from the Milwaukee Area Labor Council’s annual Laborfest at Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Sept. 5, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

It remains unclear what the heckler was saying, but it is the second time in less than a week that Biden has been forced to respond to protesters.

He said they are “entitled to be outrageous” during a polarizing speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia last Thursday. It was in response to anti-Biden shouts including “Let’s go, Brandon” and “[Expletive] Joe Biden” from hecklers. “Good manners is nothing they’ve ever suffered from,” the president commented during that speech.

It comes two months before the 2022 midterms when Republicans remain the favorites to retake the House and possibly the Senate.

Wisconsin is playing a pivotal role in which party takes control of the Senate. Incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) will face Wisconsin’s Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in the general election in November, while the state’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will face former President Donald Trump-backed businessman Tim Michels.