American activist Fred Guttenberg was ejected from the State of the Union (SOTU) on Tuesday night during President's Donald Trump's address for yelling about his deceased daughter, Jamie Guttenberg, who was killed in the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
As Trump talked about the Second Amendment being "under siege," Guttenberg, who was reportedly at the event as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's guest, began yelling, "What about my daughter!" Security then quickly moved to escort Guttenberg out of the chamber, Newsweek can confirm.
"Just as we believe in the First Amendment, we also believe in another Constitutional right that is under siege all across our country. So long as I am president I will always protect your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms," the president said during his annual address to the nation, prompting Guttenberg's outburst.
Before beginning his lengthy speech, Trump failed to shake Pelosi's outstretched hands after he handed the top Democrat a copy of his address. Pelosi was later seen ripping up her copy of Trump's speech immediately after he concluded his remarks.
The president largely stuck to his pre-written remarks on Tuesday evening, and adhered to requests from Republicans to refrain from mentioning his impeachment.
Roughly halfway during his address, Trump announced that he was going to award conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And then he did it. It comes one day after Limbaugh revealed to his radio listeners that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer earlier this month. "There are going to be days when I am not going to be able to be here because I'm undergoing treatment or I'm reacting to treatment," Limbaugh said.
"That is not good news, but what is good news is that he is the greatest fighter and winner that you will ever meet," Trump said on Tuesday, adding that Limbaugh deserves the medal for "all that you have done for our nation, the millions of people a day that you speak to and inspire, and all of the incredible work that you have done for charity."
Following Trump's remarks, First Lady Melania Trump placed the medal around Limbaugh's neck. As the ceremony unfolded, Republicans gave Limbaugh a standing ovation as some Democrats in the audience moaned and groaned. Limbaugh appeared to be overwhelmed by the gesture and he seemed surprised by the honor.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
