Latest latest: 'You have killed Americans!': Democrats and Trump clash at the State of the Union
In Washington, tensions boiled over during President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech Tuesday night in the latest clash between the president and House Democrats. DEVELOPING: Cuba says four killed after U. S. boat violates territorial waters.
Latest clashes on the floor
Tensions peaked as Trump spoke about illegal immigration and a fraud investigation into the Somali community in Minnesota. He declared that Democrats should be "ashamed. " Democratic lawmakers shouted at Trump throughout his remarks; Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., shouted back, "You should be ashamed!" and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., yelled, "Liar!"
Shouts, signs and ejections
Tlaib and Omar grew louder in their responses and heckling as the speech progressed. Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., could also be seen shouting at Trump. "You have killed Americans!" Omar and Tlaib yelled, and later they left the House chamber. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was ejected — for the second straight year — from Trump's address to Congress after he waved a sign that read "Black People Aren’t Apes!" Green was booted from the House floor for that action.
Images and guest selections
Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., held a sign with photos of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti — two U. S. citizens who were killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis in January. More than a dozen House Democrats invited survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to be their guests, centering on a topic Trump has been loath to speak about and has explicitly asked the country to move on from. During the speech Tlaib yelled, "How about those Epstein files?"
Epstein files and visible protest
Other Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, wore pins calling on the Trump administration to release all of the files. The walkouts, the charged heckling, the boycotts and the symbolism of carefully selected guests marked a forceful pushback against a president wildly unpopular with Democrats. Democratic lawmakers were relentlessly mocked last year, including by rank-and-file party members, when they sat in the chamber and quietly held up signs with expressions of protest; on Tuesday it was one thumb in the eye of Trump after another.
Alternatives on the Mall and beyond
As Trump delivered a speech of record-breaking length, the Democratic gallery was partially empty. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers attended or spoke at alternative events. There was a "People's State of the Union" outdoors on the frigid National Mall, while other Democrats hosted a "State of the Swamp" at the National Press Club near the White House, featuring rebuttals from lawmakers and actor Robert De Niro, among others.
Official Democratic response
The official Democratic response came from Colonial Williamsburg, where Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger hit Trump hard across the board and predicted that voters would reject his administration’s "chaos" in November. "He’s enriching himself, his family, his friends. The scale of the corruption is unprecedented, " she said. "There’s the cover-up of the Epstein files, the crypto scams, cozying up to foreign princes for airplanes and billionaires for ballrooms, putting his name and face on buildings all over our nation’s capital. This is not what our founders envisioned, not by a long shot. "
The latest walkouts, boycotts and heckling were accompanied by reminders of past controversies: a video Trump posted on social media that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes was removed by Trump amid widespread bipartisan condemnation, but he said he wouldn't apologize.
Concerns over Trump's deportation tactics drove much — unclear in the provided context.
Closing: The State of the Union address in Washington saw repeated confrontations between President Donald Trump and Democratic lawmakers, visible protest actions and multiple parallel events, while an unrelated developing international report noted that Cuba says four were killed after a U. S. boat violated territorial waters.
