Pocan Triggers Van Orden With "Sobriety" Jab
"It’s not normal behavior," said Van Orden, who is mostly known for drunkenly harassing Senate pages last July.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-MN) heckled President Joe Biden during last Thursday’s State of the Union (SOTU) address. “My predecessor failed in the most basic presidential duty that he owes to the American people, the duty to care,” said Biden from the Dias. ”Lies!” shouted Van Orden, prompting what was perhaps the best press from this year’s SOTU.
“This constant pattern of unnecessary outbursts, whether it’s teen pages in the Capitol Rotunda or administration officials at a classified briefing, has many of us worried about his temperament and perhaps his soberness," Rep. Mark Pocan posted on social media, alluding to an incident in July when a reportedly wasted Van Orden yelled at a group of Senate pages taking selfies under the Capitol rotunda.
“Who the fuck are you?” Van Orden, 54, reportedly yelled at the teenage pages, adding: “I don’t give a fuck who you are, get out.” The congressman called the pages “jackasses” before reportedly stumbling away. Punchbowl’s Max Cohen broke the story, which soon was followed by a photo from a tipster of Van Orden’s House office in which several booze bottles are visible.
Van Orden’s bizarre outburst at the Senate pages was widely condemned online and at the Capitol, including by Chuck Schumer. “I understand that late last night, a member of the House majority thought it appropriate to curse at some of these young people — these teenagers — in the rotunda. I was shocked when I heard about it, and I am further shocked at his refusal to apologize to these young people,” said the Senate Majority Leader at the time.
Fast forward to last Thursday. Van Orden was again in the news for shouting and being disruptive, this time during Biden’s speech. We caught up with Van Orden on Monday in the House parking to get his reaction to Pocan’s jab about his sobriety. Van Orden’s face dropped. Apparently he was unaware of Pocan’s epic trolling.
“Congressman Pocan seems to have this really creepy Internet stalker vibe going,” Van Orden told Capitol Press. “I really think that if I was a civilian, I would probably report him to law enforcement authorities because what he’s doing is creepy. It’s not normal behavior. I think he spends more time worrying about me than he does his constituents.”
Van Orden wouldn’t say if he was drunk at last week’s SOTU, but the question seemed to leave him utterly shook. “If I was a civilian, I’d think about a restraining order against him,” said Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL who not only refused to apologize to the teenage Senate pages he reportedly harassed last July, he actually doubled down on yelling at them instead.
Nine months later, Pocan’s remark about his sobriety clearly had Van Orden shook. “It’s weird,” Van Orden muttered aloud to himself as he ascended the House steps for votes yesterday afternoon. “It’s actually creepy.”
Wow. It's like middle school drama.