Obama’s American Jobs Act Speech Interrupted by Protesters
President Obama was heckled Today during an appearance at a New Hampshire high school where he discussed his proposed American Jobs Act – aimed at creating additional employment opportunities in order to strengthen the economy.
According to the Washington Times, the president had just begun his remarks, urging Congress to expand a payroll tax cut, when a protester in the crowd shouted “mic check!”
At this point Mr. Obama stopped speaking as other protesters — a pool reporter traveling with the president said there were at least 10 — shouted in unison, “Mr. President — over 4,000 peaceful protesters — have been arrested.” This tactic, called the “human mic” technique and used to amplify a group’s voices, has been used by Occupy protesters in other locations around the country.
The president smiled through the disruption, saying: “No, it’s OK,” as other parts of the crowd sought to hush the protesters by chanting his name and old campaign slogan, “Yes We Can.”
Addressing the protesters, Obama said: “Listen, I’m going to be talking about a whole range of things today.”
“And I appreciate you guys making your point,” he said. “Let me go ahead and make mine, alright? I’ll listen to you, you listen to me.”
President Obama then continued his American Jobs Act speech without further interruption.
To watch the incident for yourself, check out the video clip below: