Lauren Boebert claps back at Biden after dig at White House Correspondents Dinner: ‘Keep that basement warm’

‘If Congress were a theatre, they’d have thrown out Lauren Boebert a long time ago,’ the president joked on stage at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday

MAGA Republican Lauren Boebert has clapped back at President Joe Biden after he roasted her on stage during the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday night.

The president ripped the Colorado representative over an incident in September when she was thrown out of a theatre in Denver during a performance of Beetlejuice for lewd and loud behaviour.

Footage of the embarrassing incident showed Ms Boebert, who’s running for re-election in a new district after narrowly fending off defeat in 2022, vaping and appearing to fondle her date.

“Being here is a reminder that folks think what’s going on in Congress is political theatre,” Mr Biden said on Saturday night.

“That’s not true. If Congress were a theatre, they’d have thrown out Lauren Boebert a long time ago.”

On Monday, Ms Boebert fired back at the president, telling him to “keep that basement warm” ahead of the November election.

“Speaking of throwing people out, November is coming. Keep that basement warm,” she posted on X.

President Joe Biden speaks on stage at the White House Correspondents Dinner (EPA)

In 2020, Mr Biden was criticized for campaigning virtually from home during the pandemic, with Republicans blasting him for being stuck in his basement studio in his home in Delaware. Other candidates have since been accused for running “basement” campaigns when they are seen as being absent from the campaign trail.

Amid the former president’s legal woes, the Biden campaign slammed Donald Trump last week in a press release stating “Broke Don Hides in Basement” as they try to pin the reputation on the presumptive Republican nominee.

“Joe Biden has hit 8 swing states in 18 days, all while being POTUS. Donald Trump has golfed a lot, all while truth-socialing really hard,” Biden spokesperson James Singer wrote on X.

In another DC basement-related oddity, billionaire Elon Musk was criticised last year for trying to revive a 2016 conspiracy theory known as Pizzagate. The baseless theory outlined claims that top Democrats, such as Hillary Clinton, were running a child sex trafficking ring out of a basement of the DC pizzeria Comet Ping Pong – which does not have a basement.

Following the Beetlejuice saga, Ms Boebert initially claimed she had only been asked to leave the theatre because of her loud laughter and singing. Her campaign also denied that she had been vaping in the theatre.

Surveillance footage from inside the building revealed a different story, with the lawmaker seen vaping, singing, and taking flash photos during the performance. She also appeared to engage in heavy petting with her male companion.

When the footage came out, Ms Boebert changed her tune and apologised for her behaviour, citing her recent divorce from her husband of 18 years.

“There’s no perfect blueprint for going through a public and difficult divorce, which over the past few months has made for a challenging personal time for me and my entire family. I’ve tried to handle it with strength and grace as best I can, but I simply fell short of my values on Sunday,” Ms Boebert said in a statement at the time. “That’s unacceptable, and I’m sorry.”

She added: “Whether it was the excitement of seeing a much-anticipated production or the natural anxiety of being in a new environment, I genuinely did not recall vaping that evening when I discussed the night’s events with my campaign team while confirming my enthusiasm for the musical.”

Lauren Boebert removed from Beetlejuice show (9News)

During the dinner on Saturday, Mr Biden also mocked Mr Trump over his ongoing hush money trial in Manhattan.

“I’ve had a great stretch since the State of the Union, but Donald has had a few tough days lately. You might call it Stormy weather,” Mr Biden said in reference to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The former president faces 34 charges of falsifying business records over a hush money payment to Ms Daniels to cover up an alleged 2006 affair with Mr Trump in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election.

“Trump’s so desperate he started reading those Bibles he’s selling, then he got the First Commandment: You shall have no other Gods before me. That’s when he put it down and said ‘This book’s not for me’,” Mr Biden quipped.

The Independent has contacted Ms Boebert’s office and the Biden campaign for comment.