SC’s Wilson fires back after Obama says he wanted to smack him for ‘You lie’ outburst
South Carolina’s U.S. Rep Joe Wilson fired back after former President Barack Obama said he wanted to “smack” the Springdale Republican after he yelled “You lie,” during the president’s 2009 address to a joint session of Congress.
In a statement released by his office Monday night, Wilson said the former president “should know better than to advocate for violence over a disagreement.”
“This type of rhetoric only serves to divide our country, not unite it,” Wilson said in a statement.
Obama’s comments were made during an interview with CBS This Morning Sunday, where he was discussing his new book “A Promised Land.” Obama addresses in the book the moment Wilson interrupted him while he was talking about his plans for health care reform.
“I am shocked,” Obama said during the interview. “And my initial instinct is, ‘Let me walk down and smack this guy on the head. What is he thinking?’ ”
Wilson — who represent parts of Aiken, Barnwell, Lexington, Orangeburg and Richland counties — also doubled down on his accusations of lying in his Monday statement. During the part of the speech where Wilson yelled “You lie,” Obama was saying that claims that his reform efforts would cover undocumented immigrants were untrue.
Wilson said Monday that while Obama’s statement “was in fact untrue, I apologized that night for the interruption to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel,” Wilson said.
Wilson’s claims have been debunked by several fact checkers, including the Associated Press and Politifact.
Wilson has faced severe criticism for his outburst. He was censured by the U.S. House, and the moment has been fodder for opponents challenging Wilson for his seat in Congress since.
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 11:09 AM.
