GOP lawmaker: Some would say it’s ‘pretty American’ not to clap for something you disagree with

Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.) on Tuesday said it was not “treasonous” for Democrats to refuse to clap for President Trump during last week’s State of the Union address, adding that some would see it as “pretty American.”

“I think some things were a little bit disrespectful and petty, but certainly not treasonous,” Taylor said during an interview on CNN’s “New Day.”

“And, like I said, some people would say that that’s pretty American not to clap on something that you don’t agree with.”

{mosads}Taylor also said people shouldn’t get bent out of shape by Trump’s remarks on Monday.

In a speech, Trump suggested the Democrats not clapping for his address were guilty of treason.

“Can we call that treason? Why not?” the president said during a speech in Ohio. “They certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much.”

He called Democrats’ behavior “un-American” and added the Democrats “would rather see Trump do badly than our country do well.”

Taylor said Trump’s words were a joke, though they weren’t funny. 

“It was a political thing, it seemed kind of flippant and jokingly, which you know, certainly not funny,” he said. “Words do matter and it is important to temper our tone and what we say.”

Trump also signaled that Democrats’ refusal to cheer “very positive news” in his speech, such as low unemployment rates for Hispanics and African-Americans, will make it difficult for him to work with them on government spending and immigration.