The United States of Heckling: Obama Schools Protesters on Immigration, Everything Else

He knows how to shut it down.

When protesters heckled President Obama during his Tuesday immigration speech in Chicago, POTUS responded by acknowledging the group's gripes as "absolutely right" before smoothly shutting them down.

"The point is that though I understand why you might have yelled at me a month ago, although I disagree with some of your characterizations, it doesn't make much sense to yell at me right now when we're making changes," said Obama, using a tough-love approach to respond to complaints about his deportation policy.

It's a strategy he employed while criss-crossing the country to discuss his newly minted, hot-button executive order to enact sweeping immigration reform. 

In Las Vegas last week, he told an unruly crowd: "I've been respectful to you. I want you to be respectful to me."

He took a similar tone to address a heckler during an immigration-themed speech in San Francisco last November.

The president was looser and less serious in get-out-the-vote speeches leading up to 2014's midterm elections. Here he is in Austin back in July, scolding a shout-y citizen: "I'm on your side, man! Sit down guys. We'll talk later, I promise."

At a Democratic National Committe fundraiser in May: "You kinda screwed up my ending, but that's OK."

At another DNC event in February: "What the heck are you talking about? ... See, he thought happy hour started earlier!"

Contact Us