OAN Staff Sophia Flores and Taylor Tinsley
9:56 PM – Tuesday, February 24, 2026
President Donald Trump sparred with Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib during his State of the Union (SOTU) address, going as far as saying they should be “ashamed” of themselves.
While speaking before lawmakers on Tuesday, Trump asked members in the audience who believe “it is the primary job of the Federal Government to protect its citizens and not illegals” to stand up. Several Democrats remained seated.
“These people are crazy… with people like this, Democrats are destroying our country,” Trump responded. “Isn’t that a shame? You should be ashamed of yourselves, not standing up.”
Representatives Omar (D-Minn.) and Talib (D-Mich.) could repeatedly be heard shouting at the president following his request.
“You have killed Americans,” Omar yelled back.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Trump responded.
President Trump went on to criticize sanctuary cities for protecting criminals over American citizens and called for serious penalties against public officials who block the removal of individuals targeted for deportation. His remarks come amid the administration’s continued push to expand immigration enforcement efforts across several cities.
The enforcement surge in Minneapolis has been driven in part by allegations of widespread fraud within portions of the local Somali community, according to officials. The operation reflects increasing concerns about public safety and illegal activity linked to immigration enforcement challenges in the region.
“The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of their world where bribery, corruption, and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception,” Trump said. “Importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings those problems right here to the USA and it is the American people who pay the price.”
Omar immigrated to the United States as a Somali refugee in 1995. She became a naturalized citizen at the age of 17 in 2000.
In a video posted ahead of Trump’s speech, Omar said she wasn’t going to let the nation “forget the terror” the president unleashed in Minnesota. She shared the names of four guests she’d be bringing into the chamber, one whose father is in United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, another the chair of Columbia Heights Public Schools, the third detained by ICE himself, and the fourth, named Aliyah Rahman, who was also detained by ICE.
Rahman was also escorted out of the chamber.
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