Trump says Omar, Tlaib should be sent ‘back’ after State of the Union protests
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib should be sent “back from where they came from,” escalating a clash with two Muslim Democratic lawmakers who loudly protested his immigration remarks during his State of the Union address.
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In a late-Wednesday post on his Truth Social platform, Trump accused the congresswomen of behaving like “crooked and corrupt politicians” and used demeaning language to describe them. “When you watch Low IQ Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, as they screamed uncontrollably last night at the very elegant State of the Union … they had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick who, frankly, look like they should be institutionalised,” he wrote.
“When people can behave like that … we should send them back from where they came – as fast as possible,” Trump added. “They can only damage the United States of America, they can do nothing to help it.”
Shouts over immigration and ‘sanctuary cities’
Omar of Minnesota and Tlaib of Michigan were among a small group of Democrats who interrupted Trump’s nearly two-hour speech Tuesday. As the president called for ending “sanctuary cities,” which limit local cooperation with federal immigration authorities, Omar and Tlaib shouted, “You have killed Americans!”
Omar later wrote on social media, “I said what I said. I had to remind Trump that his administration was responsible for killing two of my constituents.” She represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Minneapolis, where Trump launched an immigration crackdown last year. In January, two U.S. citizens were killed by federal officers in Minnesota during protests against immigration raids, according to Omar’s account.
Lawmakers respond
Tlaib, the first woman of Palestinian descent elected to Congress, responded online: “Can’t take two Muslimas [Muslim women] talking back and correcting him so now he is crashing out. #PresidentMajnoon.” The Arabic term “majnoon” can mean mad, fanatical or possessed by an evil spirit.
Omar, a Somali American, is a prominent member of Minnesota’s Somali community, which has faced frequent attacks in Trump’s rhetoric. He previously told members of the community to “go back where they came from.”
Other protests on the House floor
Trump’s social media broadside focused on Omar and Tlaib, but he did not mention Rep. Sarah McBride, a Delaware Democrat who also protested during the address, according to NBC. Nor did he acknowledge Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat who was removed from the House floor while holding a sign that read “Black people aren’t apes.” Green’s sign referenced a racist video of former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama that Trump recently shared on social media.
What’s at stake
Trump has made immigration a central pillar of his presidency, intensifying enforcement efforts and urging Congress to eliminate sanctuary policies nationwide. Sanctuary city restrictions and high-profile raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement remain flash points, particularly in communities with large immigrant populations like Minneapolis.
The State of the Union disruptions, and Trump’s subsequent remarks, underscore how the debate over immigration — and who gets to belong in America — has become bound up with race, religion and the boundaries of political dissent on the House floor.
As of Thursday, Trump’s remarks had drawn immediate attention for echoing language he has used before against Omar and other lawmakers of color, even as Democrats weigh how to respond to the outburst while continuing to challenge the administration’s immigration agenda.
The bottom line
Trump’s call to send two sitting members of Congress “back” after they protested his State of the Union marks a sharp escalation in a long-running feud, colliding with raw disputes over immigration enforcement, race and the limits of political protest in one of the nation’s most public forums.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
