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VIDEO: Paul Ryan Is Interrupted By Hecklers During First Solo Appearance

Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan speaks during a campagin stop at the Des Moines Register Soap Box at the Iowa State Fair on Monday.
Steve Pope
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Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan speaks during a campagin stop at the Des Moines Register Soap Box at the Iowa State Fair on Monday.

Two days after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney introduced him as his running mate, Paul Ryan made his first solo appearance at the Iowa State Fair, today.

It's a grand tradition in Des Moines where candidates stand on a "soapbox" and get a microphone and 20 minutes to say whatever they like.

According to The Des Moines Register, Ryan fired up a crowd of thousands with an "intense 12-minute speech." But he was also interrupted by hecklers.

BuzzFeed recounts the moment:

"Ryan had barely begun speaking when a woman shouted, "Are you going to cut Medicare?"

"Two women rushed the stage, and one was apparently arrested by three Iowa State Patrolmen after getting on stage with a banner.

"'Woah...hey...alright...she must not be from Iowa,' said a dumbfounded Ryan as the woman got on stage."

ABC News has posted this video of the event:

A year ago this summer, Romney took that same stage and he was heckled as well. It was then that Romney delivered the line, "Corporations are people, my friend."

Ryan continued with his stump speech after the interruption.

"One thing we've got to get straight is we're not growing this economy like we need to," he said according to the Register. "We're not creating jobs like we can in America and that is why Mitt Romney and I have a plan for a stronger middle class."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.