GOP Rep Lauren Boebert, of Colorado, triggered an avalanche of mockery on Tuesday after using a non-existent military rank to defend her heckling President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
Bobert’s pitfall came as she took to Twitter to claim that a soldier’s mother had thanked her for interrupting Biden’s address to the nation.
During his speech, Biden vowed to provide more support for military families whose sons and daughters have returned in “flag-draped coffins.” Boebert responded by shouting out, “You buried thirteen of them!” – referring to the 13 US service members killed in a terrorist attack on Kabul’s airport last August.
Now, Boebert is claiming that the mother of one of those troops wrote her a letter.
“After I spoke up, a few of the parents of our fallen soldiers reached out to me, and one of the moms encouraged me to share her thoughts with you,” Boebert said in a video post, before beginning to quote the letter.
“‘Hello Mrs. Boebert. I am Shana Chappell, the mother of Lieutenant Corporal Kareem Nikoui…’”
According to multiple reports, Marine Corps Lance Corporal Kareem M Nikoui was, in fact, one of the 13 soldiers killed in the suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport. However he was not a “lieutenant corporal,” because that rank doesn’t exist.
Naturally, Twitter wasted no time to point that out.
“The US military doesn’t have a rank of ‘lieutenant corporal’,” responded US Army lieutenant colonel and Trump whistleblower Alexander Vindman. “So what was the nationality of the mother who thanked her?” he wondered.
Lincoln Project director Fred Wellman tweeted: “She doesn’t know even the most basic ranks. No… there is no such thing as a f***ing ‘lieutenant corporal.’ He was a Marine Lance Corporal.”
Others wondered if QAnon conspiracies played a role in the confusion.
“Maybe there’s a ‘lieutenant corporal’ in whatever Q army she’s in, but not in the actual US military,” replied the advocacy group VoteVets.
Check more responses below:
The U.S. military doesn’t have a rank of “lieutenant corporal” so what was the nationality of the mother who thanked her? https://t.co/nuKGtFTOKF
— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) March 15, 2022
She couldn't even say Corporal right.
What rank is a Lieutenant Corpal?— Wicksie (@wicksie_co_uk) March 15, 2022
Maybe there's a "lieutenant corporal" in whatever Q army she's in, but not in the actual U.S. military. https://t.co/yaY88kDx9b
— VoteVets (@votevets) March 15, 2022
#LaurenBoebertIsSoDumb pic.twitter.com/qRIWs108T1
— voteblue2020🇺🇦🌻🇺🇸 (@lflorepolitics) March 15, 2022
It's a rank in Gazpacho infantry.
— Annoying Liberal 🇺🇸 (@CodeAficionado) March 15, 2022
She was supposedly reading from the mother’s letter. No mother would misstate or not know their child’s military rank.
— ticatsings (@ticat441) March 15, 2022
— Rhonda Harbison (@rhonda_harbison) March 15, 2022
The breathy, slowly closed eyes… She's been watching Olivia Nuzzi. She can't even approach pulling that off. Embarrassing, people voted for that.
— Tiggs/Cupcake🇺🇦 🌻🧁💉💉💉💉😷 (@ClaudiaTiggs) March 15, 2022
"Grown American Adults" Actually Vote for "This" ..
— Ed (@LevensonEdward) March 15, 2022
Clearly, she meant Lance Colonel, that’s an OE-45, duhhh! pic.twitter.com/41h2xbrvRK
— 🇺🇸zomadije🇩🇴randomness loading… (@damedinero17) March 16, 2022
"I am the very model of a modern Lieutenant Corporal." pic.twitter.com/BLxt7AGQLX
— Hypergolic (@launchallvipers) March 15, 2022
Lt. Corporals are the squad leaders in the Gazpacho 😸
— Jonny Gato (水猫 ) (@critical_codger) March 15, 2022
Must be a rank in Russian army.
— JB (@swtsu85) March 15, 2022
And of course, had she stayed in school, she might know that you can look these things up.🙄
— Laura Cameron (@LauraCameron__) March 15, 2022
