The Congressman Who Yelled “Lies” During the State of the Union Has a History of Crazy Outbursts [Mother Jones]

“Usually Directed At Teens”

Have questions about Derrick Van Orden’s pattern of inappropriate behavior, temper tantrums, and bullying teenagers? Look no further.

Mother Jones: The Congressman Who Yelled “Lies” During the State of the Union Has a History of Crazy Outbursts
Noah Lanard | March 8, 2024

• Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisc.) has an obvious problem with anger management. The latest example came on Thursday when the freshman Republican from Wisconsin shouted “lies” at President Joe Biden during the State of the Union.

• In some respects, Thursday’s outburst was a sign of progress. Unlike two previous incidents, Van Orden was shouting at an adult this time.

• Van Orden got in trouble last year for yelling at a group of 16- and 17-year-old Senate pages for lying on the floor of the Capitol Rotunda to take photos. 

• Van Orden never apologized. Instead, he defended taking the teenagers to task for “defiling” the Capitol and treating the building like a “frat house common room.” (After losing his first congressional race in November 2020, Van Orden went to the Capitol on January 6 but did not enter the building.)

• In 2021, Van Orden made news for yelling at Kerrigan Trautsch, a then-17-year-old page at the Prairie du Chien library in Wisconsin.

• “His voice was loud, he was aggressive, he had his finger jabbing into [the book] constantly,” Trautsch said about what she described as “very uncomfortable” and “threatening” situation. Traustch said she offered to help only to have Van Orden keep saying: “Hush, you don’t have a voice. You don’t have a voice.”

• Van Orden reportedly demanded multiple times to know who had set up the children’s book display so that he could “teach them a lesson.” Trautsch was too scared to tell him that she had set it up, saying, “He was full on shouting at this point and he kept aggressively shoving the books around.”

• Later in 2021, Van Orden went through security at an Iowa airport with a loaded handgun in his bag. Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL, pled guilty, paid a fine, and was ordered to take a gun safety course.

• In an interview to promote [his] book, Van Orden said it covers topics such as how to start a fire and kiss a girl. The congressman, who identifies himself as a “heterosexual male” on multiple occasions in the interview, stresses the importance of being a “renaissance man” who can go from hunting to discussing poetry. It’s unclear if he considers shouting at presidents and teenagers to be one of his many talents. Van Orden’s office did not respond to a request for comment. 

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