Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert has arrived at the State of the Union draped in a shawl emblazoned with “Drill Baby Drill”.
The congresswoman made the statement in support of increased drilling for petroleum and gas ahead of President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address, upon her arrival at the US Capitol.
This is not the first time Boebert has used the 2008 Republican campaign slogan, as she previously tweeted: “When it comes to Energy, I support an all-of-the-above strategy where the government does not choose winners and losers. Drill baby, drill! Add new nuclear technology to the mix as a clean and efficient energy source.”
The slogan was first used in 2008 by Michael Steele at the Republican National Convention. The phrase was later popuarlised by former republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
Ahead of the SOTU, Boebert expressed her support for increased drilling on Twitter, where she wrote: “MAKE AMERICA ENERGY INDEPENDENT AGAIN!”
In another tweet, the congresswoman said that what she wants to hear in President Biden’s speech is “how to solve the border crisis, how to produce more American energy, how to reduce inflation, and how to put America first” but that “what we will hear are more plans to waste trillions of tax dollars on climate change and other leftist priorities”.
Boebert’s choice to wear the slogan at the SOTU appears to be in response to demands for the US to boycott Russian oil and gas giants as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia is one of the largest exporters of oil in the world.
Boebert’s outfit choice was in stark contrast to the number of attendees, who opted to wear the colours of yellow and blue in support of Ukraine.
Among those wearing the country’s colours was First Lady Jill Biden, who wore a blue dress emblazoned with a small sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine. The first lady was also joined by US Representative Cheri Bustos, who wore a blue suit with a yellow blouse. Ahead of the SOTU, Bustos tweeted a photo of herself and wrote: “Today, I’m wearing the colors of the Ukrainian flag because #IStandWithUkraine. We must do everything we can to preserve our democracies from those that wish to hurt them.”
Republican lawmaker Victoria Spartz, who was born in Ukraine, also wore the colours of the Ukranian flag, in the form of a yellow dress and blue blazer, for the president’s address, while Congressman Frank Pallone Jr also announced that he would be wearing yellow and blue.
“Today, I’m wearing blue and yellow to President Biden’s #StateOfTheUnion to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine. In my DC office, I have a painting of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, which I purchased when I visited the Ukrainian capital a few years ago,” he wrote on Twitter ahead of the SOTU.
Vicky Hartzler also wore blue for the occasion, with the lawmaker tweeting that it was “inspiring to see so many members of Congress wearing blue and yellow in solidarity with the brave citizens of Ukraine,” while Congresswoman Lois Frankel shared a photo of herself and other lawmakers wearing blue and yellow in the US Capitol.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also wore blue, as well as a pin combining the US and Ukrainian flags.
Boebert later sparked anger during the State of the Union when she heckled the president while he spoke about the death of his son Beau.
