While President Donald Trump laid out what he called America’s “golden age” in his State of the Union (SOTU) address, Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib (an anti-Israel Palestinian American) chose a different form of commentary: a “F*CK ICE” pin and repeated heckling toward President Trump from the House floor.
During the almost two-hour speech [1], President Trump touted a secured border, falling inflation, lower gas prices, tax cuts including “no tax on tips,” and aggressive deportations of criminal illegal aliens. He also pressed Congress to pass voter ID requirements and crack down on sanctuary cities. Republicans repeatedly stood and cheered. Democrats largely did not.
While Republicans filled the room with applause, others made their opposition known in a different way. Dozens of Democrats chose to skip the SOTU in what appeared to be a form of protest, though the specific message behind their absence was not clearly articulated except the hatred of Trump and everything he stands for. That included Ann Arbor Rep. Debbie Dingell and Michigan U.S. Senator Gary Peters.
Meanwhile, while some Democrats opted for absence, others may have left viewers wondering whether that might have been the better choice. That includes Detroit Rep. Rashida Tlaib who drew criticism from viewers who objected to her disgusting conduct during the event.
Video circulating online shows Tlaib appearing to chant “KKK” during portions of the speech when the rest of the chamber (at least the Republicans) were chanting USA. At other moments, she and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (Somali American) were heard shouting “liar” as Republicans rose to applaud throughout the night.
Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib caught on camera chanting “KKK” while others chanted “USA” at last night’s State of the Union. pic.twitter.com/UzSoAASBZF [2]
— Katie Heid (@katie_heid) February 25, 2026 [3]
And when Trump challenged lawmakers to stand if they agreed that “the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens,” Republicans stood. Most Democrats remained seated. Of course, Tlaib did not rise. Why would she? Tlaib and her Democrat pals don’t care about Americans. That’s been painfully obvious for quite a while.
At one point, Trump fired back at Democrats from the podium, telling them, “You should be ashamed.” He also said, “These people are crazy,” when talking about their stance on transgenders and mutilating children.
Truer words have never been spoken.