Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shouted down a heckler during a forum at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in New York on Monday. The unidentified heckler accused her of presenting a “warmongering” speech.
Clinton pointed at the heckler after having enough of his raving and ranting, and said, “Sit down. We’ve heard enough of your opinion.” Up until that point, Clinton stood her ground against the heckler as he protested President Joe Biden’s suggestion during his recent national-security speech that a $100 billion omnibus spending bill providing military assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
“This is free speech. Everyone has everything. That is not free speech. This is people constructing narratives that are openly hypocritical. I’m sorry,” he replied.
Clinton told the heckler he was not exercising free speech when he was disrupting the event.
Heckler Worries About World War III
The heckler screamed about the funding, saying, “We are supposed to bundle all of these things together and pretend like we are going to rush to World War III, and we’re going to let Hillary Rodham Clinton sit here.”
His views represent those of a wide swath of the American electorate that worry the U.S. is going headlong into World War III and that nuclear war once again is a concern. A poll conducted in April 2022 by the American Psychological Association found that 70 percent of Americans worry about nuclear war and that “the invasion of Ukraine is going to lead to nuclear war, and that they fear that we are at the beginning stages of World War III.”
Clinton slammed the heckler, saying “this is not the way to have a conversation,” before saying she would speak with him after the panel discussion. “I do not believe you,” the heckler said. “The American people’s voices are what needs to be heard, because the president is not speaking for the American people.” The heckler claimed that Biden did not represent the views of most Americans, to which Clinton responded by saying she disagreed.
X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk echoed the heckler’s sentiments Monday.
“I think we are sleepwalking towards World War III. With one stupid decision after another. People need to do some self-reflection. If their forecasts did not come true, they should think that maybe the rest of their forecasts will not come true,” Musk said.
Heckler Demands Denunciation of Biden Speech
The heckler went on screaming at Clinton about how John Foster Dulles helped found the CIA at the same time Eleanor Roosevelt was involved in writing the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights.
“Will you denounce Joe Biden’s speech?” the heckler asked. To which Clinton replied that she would not while the heckler continued yelling about it.
“Joe Biden’s warmongering speech is going to push us to World War III,” the heckler said as Clinton attempted to move forward with the program.
The heckler screamed, “Some of us are not on team America.” Clinton riposted, “Some of us are on Team America despite our flaws and our problems.”
The heckler represents a significant portion of the American population that worries about what is happening in the world around them. Growing perceptions of global instability ultimately could doom Biden’s presidency. Donald Trump will be able to remind Americans that the world remained relatively peaceful and stable during his term.
John Rossomando is a defense and counterterrorism analyst and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, The National Interest, National Review Online, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award for his reporting.
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