U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has drawn criticism on social media for his lack of respect for Capitol officer Eugene Goodman after video footage of him refusing to applaud the officer during a standing ovation went viral.
Lawmakers gave Officer Goodman a standing ovation in the Senate chamber on Friday following the question-and-answer session of former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial.
Goodman was hailed a hero and gained national recognition after video footage showing the officer leading a group of pro-Trump rioters up a staircase and away from an immediate entrance to the Senate chamber during the Capitol riot went viral on social media. Additional footage released by House impeachment managers during the Senate trial earlier this week also showed Goodman running down a hallway and redirecting Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) away from rioters.
"In the weeks after the attack on January the 6th, the world learned about the incredible, incredible bravery of officer Goodman on that fateful day," Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said on the Senate floor on Friday. "Here in this trial, we saw new video, powerful video showing calmness under pressure — his courage in the line of duty, his foresight in the midst of chaos, and his willingness to make himself a target of the mob's rage so that others might reach safety."
"Officer Goodman is in the chamber tonight. Officer Goodman, thank you," Schumer continued, gesturing to the officer, as lawmakers present in the chamber turned toward him to give him a standing ovation. While Sen. Paul, who was not wearing a mask, did rise to his feet to honor the officer, he refused to clap for him. Watch the video below:
Twitter Reactions
The video footage instantly went viral on Twitter, garnering more than 180,000 views on Twitter, thousands of retweets and hundreds of comments with social media users criticizing the Republican senator over his refusal to applaud Officer Goodman on the senate floor.
"Rand Paul deserved that ass kicking he got from his neighbor!!!," wrote one user, referring to the 2017 incident, where the senator was attacked by his neighbor during a dispute over their yards.
"When you see Rand Paul clearly uncomfortable with a public display of respect and appreciation for a black man's actions, you really appreciate just why it was he voted against making Lynching a federal hate crime," commented another. As previously reported, last year, Paul stalled an anti-lynching bill that would make lynching a federal hate crime. The bill was named the Emmett Till Antilynching Act after the 14-year-old black boy who was tortured and killed in 1955 in Mississippi.
"WTF is wrong with that man? There's seriously something wrong with the guy. He can't even pretend for 30 seconds to show some goddamn gratitude to a guy who saved lives that day," tweeted a third user, while another opined, "He is a sociopath in every sense of the word. Apathetic, unremorseful, unwilling to listen. That he sits in that seat is an abomination."
