Biden Heckled by Climate Activist During Arizona Speech: ‘If You Shush Up, I’ll Meet With You’

President Joe Biden spoke before a mixed crowd in Tempe, Arizona on Thursday to deliver a speech on defending democracy. But after some moving remarks about his friend, the late Sen. John McCain, whom he was also honoring at the speech, a climate activist started heckling him. Rather than get flustered, Biden told him he’d speak to him — if he promised to “shush up.”

After an emotional introduction by McCain’s widow Cindy McCain, who also serves as the Ambassador of the United Nation’s World Food Program, Biden offered up moving remarks about what McCain stood for before beginning his defense of democracy and rebuke of political violence. Just as he was getting into it, the heckler broke in about energy independence and why Biden hasn’t declared a climate emergency. The crowd tried to shut him up, and could be heard yelling “Sit down!” and “No!”

But Biden, from the podium, told the protestor, “I’ll be happy to meet with you after I speak.”

The heckler kept going, the crowd kept trying to stop him. Finally, Biden tried again, saying, “Well, I’ll tell you what, if you shush up, I’ll meet with you immediately after this, okay?”

For that, it sounds like the heckler backed down, and that was followed by applause. Biden continued with this, which got a big laugh:

But democracy never is easy, as we just demonstrated.

Watch the video above via CNN.