Biden tells climate activist to ‘shush up’ during speech on democracy

President Biden told a climate activist to “shush up” during his speech honoring the late Sen. John McCain in Arizona on Thursday.

“Why have you yet to declare a climate emergency?” the activist shouted from the crowd. “Hundreds of Arizonians have died.”

The disturbance was quickly met with a reaction from the crowd, mostly boos, before the president stepped in.

“Why don’t you wait — hang on a second, I’d be happy to meet with you after I speak, OK?” Mr. Biden said from the podium.

The person continued talking about climate change and fossil fuels.

“I’ll tell you what, if you shush up, I’ll meet with you immediately after this, OK?” the president said.

After the activist had been removed, Mr. Biden continued his speech with a nod to the disturbance.

“Democracy’s never easy, as we just demonstrated.”

According to a pool report filed by a journalist on the scene, the president did not meet with the climate protester. It is unclear if there are plans for Mr. Biden to meet with them at a later time.

Mr. Biden was at Arizona State University to give a speech on democracy and announce the use of American Rescue Plan funding to create a library at the university in honor of McCain.

He used his relationship with McCain as an example of bipartisanship. The president spent time pointing out the differences between the late senator’s career and that of former President Donald Trump.

Mr. Biden has publicly said that climate change is “literally an existential threat to our nation and to the world,” but has not declared it an official national emergency, much to the dismay of climate activists.

Last month, the president said that he had “practically” declared climate change a national emergency. He pointed to actions such as rejoining the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, protecting more land and passing legislation that promotes clean energy.