Obama Tells Israel-Supporting Heckler: 'I Believe In God, Thanks For The Prayer'
President Obama had an exchange of words with a heckler who was shouting "Jesus is the Lord of Israel" during his speech in Kansas City, Missouri on Wednesday.
The woman was reportedly yelling from the balcony of Kansas City's Uptown Theater, where Obama was minutes into delivering his speech about the economy.
"I'm sorry what you hollering about?" Obama asked the woman, reported CBS. "I believe in God. Thanks for the prayer. Amen. Thank you."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
After he acknowledged her, Obama attempted to restart his speech but was quickly interrupted by the crowd of attendees chanting, "We love you!'"
White House reporter, Nedra Pickler tweeted live from the event that the woman had been escorted out of the building before Obama resumed his message.
His main points of discussion included clean energy, tax breaks, pay equity for women and a higher minimum wage in addition to reprimanding Republican lawmakers for congressional inaction.
"How do we make sure we've got an economy that's working for everybody? Imagine how much further along we'd be if Congress was doing its job. … They haven't been too helpful. They haven't been as constructive as I would have hoped," said Obama, according to The Kansas City Star.
While the majority of the crowd applauded Obama's points, others who stood outside the theater voiced concerned about other issues, including Israel and its escalating conflict with Hamas.
"It's biblical," said Vicki Sciolaro, a bystander at the venue, reports The Kansas City Star. "As Christians, we want to stand with Israel. We'll stay here 'til we fall over or someone tells us to go home."
Obama's speech took place the same day the Republican-led House approved a resolution to allow Speaker John Boehner to sue Obama based on claims that he abused his powers in enforcing Obamacare, which Obama dismissed as an unproductive effort.
The Republican National Committee later issued a statement criticizing Obama's speech.
"It's clear President Obama is not living in the same economic reality that the rest of the country is, where growth is still on pace for one of the weakest years since the end of the recession, ObamaCare is raising premiums, and each month more Americans drop out of the workforce than actually find jobs," the statement read.
