Here's how Gwen Moore ended up sitting next to Marjorie Taylor Greene at the State of the Union

How did U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, a Democrat who represents the Milwaukee area in Congress, end up sitting next to U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia who wore a "MAGA" hat at the State of the Union?

"I came in late, as usual," Moore told MSNBC on Saturday. "Those are coveted seats, right there on the aisle. You see the usual suspects sitting on the aisle. You've never seen Gwen Moore, in 19 years, sitting on the aisle."

She first tried to sit down somewhere else, but the ushers told her it was a senator's seat. Then "one of my colleagues, not to be named" said she had the perfect seat for Moore.

So, she ended up sitting next to Greene, though "nobody wanted to sit next to MTG." Moore said she remembered her ethics training and that she doesn't have to agree with people, and thought she would ignore her.

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But Moore ended up "fact-checking her in real time." When Greene said no one is being prevented from voting now compared to 1965, Moore mentioned legal challenges to her ballot submitted through a drop box in Wisconsin and the fake electors scheme.

And when Greene was "muttering" about President Joe Biden shuttering businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, Moore said, she responded that the pandemic was real and almost took her oldest son's life.

"She is a human being. I was trying to bring out some empathy, and to see if she had any," Moore said. "Instead of spending all of our time being surprised and shocked at Donald Trump having these supporters, to try to listen to them."

Moore wasn't the only member of Wisconsin's congressional delegation who picked up attention at the Thursday night address. U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden was the member who shouted "lies" when Biden criticized the former president's handling of the pandemic.

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Moore was also portrayed briefly in a "Saturday Night Live" skit that spoofed Biden's address and Sen. Katie Britt's GOP response. When the camera cut to Greene booing Biden and calling him a liar, Moore looked unimpressed.

And Moore apparently was a fan. On X (formerly Twitter), Moore said SNL "nailed my outfit" and asked who wore it better.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How Gwen Moore ended up sitting next to MTG at State of the Union