Don Beyer on U.S. Politics

Public disputes concerning political parties, public officials, institutions, political conduct, and governance in the United States.

How we classify topics

Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.

Statement history

2 statements on this page. Dates: September 17, 2026 to September 18, 2026

2 matching statements. Dates: September 17, 2026 to September 18, 2026

2 published statements. Dates: September 17, 2026 to September 18, 2026

Condemned

2 published statements. Dates: September 17, 2026 to September 18, 2026

2 statements on this page. Dates: September 17, 2026 to September 18, 2026

Don Beyer

Role at the time: U.S. Representative (D-VA), speaking at the rally outside the Kennedy Center

September 18, 2026Condemned

Statement summary

Speaking at a human-chain rally organized by Hands Off the Arts on September 18, 2026, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) said he kept wondering how insecure, narcissistic and egomaniacal a person has to be "to say you'll demolish a building if they don't put your name on it." The sentence is Beyer's own characterization of what he took President Trump's recent remarks to mean, not a quotation of Trump.

“I keep wondering how insecure, how narcissistic, how egomaniacal you have to be to say you'll demolish a building if they don't put your name on it.”

Open sourceProtesters form human chain around shuttered Kennedy Center · NBC4 WashingtonBody text, the paragraph quoting U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., 'at Friday's protest'.

Same-night news report (page shows 'Published September 18, 2026' and 'Updated ... at 11:50 pm'). It prints the sentence and attributes it to Beyer at the Friday protest; the wording matches the recording. It reports only this one sentence of his speech.

Why we used this label

The case's fixed reference point is President Trump's stated position that the Kennedy Center's closure and renovation depend on recognition for his administration, as expressed in his September 15 Truth Social post and reaffirmed in his September 16 remarks to reporters. Beyer answers that position, as he understands it, with an express criticism: he says he keeps wondering how insecure, narcissistic and egomaniacal a person has to be "to say you'll demolish a building if they don't put your name on it." The closest competing label is challenges_characterization, because the sentence rests on Beyer's own reading of what Trump said rather than on Trump's words. That loses because Beyer does not dispute how the position is described; he denounces it.

Read statement Donald Trump's statements linking the Kennedy Center's renovation to recognition for his administration

Don Beyer

Role at the time: United States Representative for Virginia’s 8th district, posting on his official account

September 17, 2026Condemned

Statement summary

Representative Don Beyer said that had the House been allowed to vote on whether to consider impeaching Hegseth, he would have voted yes, and accused Speaker Johnson of sending the House into recess early to avoid that vote.

“For the record, had that vote happened I would have voted YES.”

Read the original postRep. Don Beyer on Bluesky: he would have voted to consider impeaching HegsethFull text of the post.

Retrieved in full from the Bluesky public API, which returns the complete post text and a precise timestamp. Secondary aggregators carried only a truncated fragment beginning mid-sentence at “afraid to let the House vote.”

Why we used this label

Relative to the case’s fixed reference point -- whether the House should impeach Hegseth -- Beyer states plainly how he would have voted, which is a direct answer to the question the case asks rather than a judgement about Hegseth’s conduct in general. This is what separates him from Senator Tillis, recorded here as mixed_or_conditional: Tillis wants Hegseth gone but declines to endorse the impeachment route, while Beyer commits to the vote itself.

Read statement Should Pete Hegseth be impeached?