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By Aila Slisco
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Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert suggested that serving in Congress is comparable to serving in the U.S. military while delivering a Veterans Day speech to a group of veterans in her state on Wednesday.
A video clip of the Republican addressing the veterans had been viewed over 150,000 times after being shared Thursday by the Twitter account @PatriotTakes. Boebert, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, did not serve in the military. She is best known for espousing fiery pro-Trump and pro-gun rhetoric since being sworn into Congress for her first term in January.
"As your congresswoman, it is my proper role to keep you free," Boebert told the crowd. "And that is what I'm fighting for each and every day, just as each of you have fought to keep us free in the greatest nation that this world has ever known."
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The comparison quickly sparked a Twitter condemnation from VoteVets, a progressive political action committee that says it "campaigns to relentlessly lift up the voices of veterans" and has over 1.5 million members.
"Oh no. No no no no no.@laurenboebert, you never fought for this country in any way, shape, or form," the group tweeted. "You're a traitor. How dare you say this?"
Boebert also insisted that she was not delivering a political speech before railing against President Joe Biden and COVID-19 public health measures while maintaining that she is "not anti-vax."
"This is certainly not a political speech. This is to honor you," she said. "But you can't help but look and see what is happening when our nation is in the hands of people who do not cherish and love it the way you have shown that you do."
In a different part of the speech, Boebert said, "Now, there's probably more medical mandates coming down the pike. I'm not anti-vax, I'm not anti any medical procedure. What I am is anti medical mandates. And what's coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is not what you fought for."
Boebert also asserted that women with post-traumatic stress disorder "who don't feel safe" about the possibility of going to a psychiatrist that is transgender—and "may have been born Alex but are now Alexa"—was "an issue we are seeing a lot."
The congresswoman sent out a Veterans Day message to her Twitter followers on the same day, while singling out two veterans who were present during her sparsely attended speech on Wednesday as "True American heroes."
"Happy Veterans Day to all who served and their families!" Boebert tweeted alongside a picture of herself with the veterans. "Yesterday, I was honored to spend time with Chief Master Sergeant Darla Sanders and Chief Master Sergeant Bob Sanders. True American heroes!"
Newsweek reached out to Boebert's office for comment but did not hear back before publication.
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