House Speaker Mike Johnson said he deliberately allowed Democratic disruptions during President Donald Trumps State of the Union address so the nation could see their shameful conduct for itself.
According to the Daily Caller, Johnson declined to remove Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan from the chamber after they repeatedly shouted at President Trump during his remarks. Speaking on Newsmaxs State of the Union coverage, the Republican leader explained that while he believed he had the authority to eject certain members, he felt the president had managed the interruptions with composure and strength.
It was a very shameful display. There was a couple of times theres a couple of House members that I probably could have ejected from the chamber because of their behavior, but the president handled it so well, Johnson said. And I decided not to do that because I thought it would be better for the American people to see that, to see the shame that they were bringing upon themselves. And they just continue to do it. His comments underscored a broader conservative frustration with what many on the right view as a pattern of left-wing grandstanding and disregard for institutional norms.
Johnson also faulted Democrats for the moments they chose to stand and sit during the address, arguing their reactions revealed their priorities more clearly than any prepared talking points. They stood at the wrong times, and they refused to stand when they should have. They stood and applauded themselves for voting against the Working Families Tax Cuts, he said. So they voted to impose the largest tax increase in history on the American people, and they clap for themselves. That video is going to be very valuable to us in the future.
The speaker contrasted that behavior with Democrats refusal to applaud a basic statement about the governments duty to its own citizens. And on the contrary, they refused to stand when the president said, Answer this simple question: the first job of the government in the country is to defend Americans and not illegal aliens. They sat on their hands for that, he added. So their actions and their words speak loudly to the American people, and their record is as shameful as their antics tonight. We, on the other hand, have a record of success. The president touted so much of that tonight.
Omar and Tlaibs outbursts came after President Trump asked lawmakers to rise if they agreed the United States should protect American citizens, not illegal aliens. As some Democrats remained seated and the two congresswomen shouted at him, the president directly rebuked those obstructing border enforcement and deportations.
[Democrats] are blocking the removal of these people out of our country and you should be ashamed of yourself, Trump said while the congresswomen shouted. The tense exchange highlighted the stark divide between a Republican agenda centered on border security and public safety, and a Democratic caucus increasingly defined by its refusal to prioritize American citizens over illegal immigrants.
That divide was further illustrated when numerous Democrats declined to stand in support of the families of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray, both murdered by illegal immigrants under former President Joe Bidens administration, during President Trumps March 2025 joint-session address. For conservatives, those silent gestures and shouted interruptions alike serve as powerful evidence that the lefts ideological commitments have eclipsed its willingness to defend American lives and uphold basic standards of decorum in the nations Capitol.
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