During a Monday evening event featuring Rep. Nancy Pelosi and economist Paul Krugman at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center, hecklers interrupted the discussion, delivering pointed critiques of Pelosi. These outbursts, totaling four, accused her of “war crimes,” “corruption,” and referenced her alleged “drinking habit.”
One heckler opened by condemning Pelosi for her role in the Iraq War, shouting, “You know, Pelosi, that’s a very good place for you in the depths of hell. For some reason, you have a very bad obsession with getting us into war. Why is it that you did not admit there were no WMDs in Iraq?” The heckler escalated, stating, “You lied us into a war in Iraq. You got us to invade Afghanistan. Now over 90 percent of those people are impoverished and are dying. Why don’t you tell the truth about Nordstream? Why did we destroy Nordstream? You’re leaving millions of Germans without energy. People like you should be arrested; you are a war criminal!”
Though security promptly removed this heckler, another soon stood up and shouted, “Hey congresswoman, I came to see a warmonger, but you’re a sad old drunk! What happened? When you went to Taiwan, were you looking for Ukraine? Did we blow up the Nordstream on accident or on purpose? Did you know about that?” Growing increasingly heated, he continued, “You’re a war criminal by definition, Ms. Pelosi. You’ve got some nerve. How many people have died in your f***ing name?”
Despite security’s intervention, two additional hecklers attempted to disrupt the event. However, by this point, security was ready and swiftly removed them. The incident bore a resemblance to a famous event involving former President George W. Bush, who was once interrupted by an Iraq War veteran who demanded, “Mr. Bush, when are you going to apologize for the million Iraqis that are dead because you lied? My friends are dead because you lied. You need to apologize!”
CUNY had originally advertised the Pelosi-Krugman event with high regard for Pelosi’s legislative impact, highlighting her role as the 52nd Speaker of the House and describing her as a “chief architect of generation-defining legislation, including the Affordable Care Act and the American Rescue Plan.” Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist, was touted as a senior scholar at the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality.
