May 02, 2024 11:39 AM UTC

Lauren Boebert's Romp Through GWU Goes Predictably Awry

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• by: Colorado Pols

As NBC4 Washington reports, a small contingent of far-right members of Congress including the ever down-to-troll Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado paid a visit to the campus of George Washington University yesterday, theatrically engaging in confrontations with protesters on campus against the ongoing war in Gaza and generally complaining about the hippies stinking up this beloved joint of higher education. Boebert’s visit to GWO comes as tensions escalate over protest encampments across the nation:

The congressmembers, including committee Chairman James Comer (Ky.) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), were greeted by chants and boos from the protesters.

The congressmembers have been deeply critical of the way D.C. police and Mayor Muriel Bowser have handled the protest, calling it unlawful and antisemitic. They are calling on D.C. police to remove the demonstrators as the university requested last week…

“We bless Israel,” Boebert said, raising her voice as protesters chanted. “We bless Israel. Those who bless Israel shall be blessed. We stand with Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East. That is who we stand for.”

Boebert did a bit more than idly “bless” the state of Israel, at one point attempting unsuccessfully to tear down a Palestinian flag draped over a statute of George Washington in full view of assembled protesters who thankfully did not respond to her aggression in kind:

Newsweek has more on Boebert’s would-be provocation that wasn’t:

In videos shared on social media, Boebert is captured attempting to remove a Palestinian flag that had been draped over a statue of George Washington, telling the protesters that they were infringing on “private property.”

A person identifying themselves as a faculty member then reminded Boebert that the statue was not her property, seemingly prompting the congresswoman to walk away while still demanding that the flag be taken down…

Mediaite:

Boebert walked through the encampment and when she came across a statue of George Washington covered in pro-Palestinian flags and other symbols, she attempted to take down the largest flag. A protester tried to stop Boebert and told her this was “private property.”

Boebert can be heard responding to the protestor, who put herself between the Republican and the statue, saying, “This is America, and that shit needs to come down.”

In the end the flag was reportedly not removed, but now we’ll always have the image of Boebert futilely tugging at it–and so will the undaunted students who were smart enough not to take the bait. Considering the violent attack on the protest emcampment at UCLA the night before Boebert showed up at GWU looking for trouble, however you feel about these protests we’d call that commendable restraint.

But as the Independent reports, that doesn’t mean the protesters were going to be out-trolled by Boebert, who in case you forgot during all the flag-yanking and pontificating is one of the most scandal-ridden of all presently-serving Congresscritters:

On Wednesday, Ms Boebert visited the college campus in Washington DC along with fellow Republican representatives James Comer, Byron Donalds, and Anna Paulina Luna. The visit comes at a time when protests are spreading across US colleges, as students call on universities to divest from ties to Israel due to its ongoing war on Gaza.

As the group of Republicans arrived, chants of “Beetlejuice” could be heard.

From the moment Lauren Boebert crashed Beto O’Rourke’s Aurora press conference to attack O’Rourke’s call for gun control, her political career has been all about personal confrontations and making herself part of larger stories with over-the-top distractions like showing pictures of aborted fetuses in a wearing about delisting wolves. Boebert doesn’t seem to realize that these spectacles are revolting even to many of her supporters–and that’s when she pulls them off, unlike yesterday where her clear attempts to initiate a conflict with protesters were thankfully unsuccessful.

Wherever you stand on the issue underlying the protests, Boebert’s self-serving harassment of these protesters doesn’t help anything.