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source_url: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-says-ilhan-omar-should-get-on-boat-after-sotu-clash-11584340
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President Donald Trump said Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib "should get on a boat" following a heated exchange with the congresswomen during his State of the Union address.
Omar, a Somali American, and Tlaib, a Palestinian American, [had shouted criticism](https://www.newsweek.com/sotu-2026-donald-trump-mark-kelly-ilhan-omar-11577679) when Trump touted his administration's immigration crackdown during his address on Tuesday evening. Both yelled "you're killing Americans," and Omar also called him a "liar."
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, the president said the Democratic congresswoman "had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick who, frankly, look like they should be institutionalized." He added: "We should send them back from where they came — as fast as possible."
Both Omar and Tlaib are both U.S. citizens.
Newsweek has contacted Omar and Tlaib for comment via email outside regular business hours.
Why It Matters
It is not the first time that Trump has directed such rhetoric towards the congresswomen. In his first term, he was criticized for a tweet telling four progressive congresswomen, including Omar and Tlaib, to ["go back" to where they came from](https://www.newsweek.com/shepard-smith-other-fox-news-hosts-criticize-trumps-go-back-tweet-xenophobic-eruption-1449367).
Last month, [Omar blamed Trump for threats to her safety](https://www.newsweek.com/ilhan-omar-attack-sprayed-substance-trump-charges-doj-11438767) after she was squirted with liquid at an event in Minneapolis. [The man arrested for the attack](https://www.newsweek.com/ilhan-omar-attack-sprayed-substance-trump-charges-doj-11438767) had posted online in support of Trump.
Trump also recently faced widespread criticism after posting a video on his Truth Social account that depicted former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. [The White House initially defended the post](https://www.newsweek.com/white-house-responds-to-backlash-over-racist-post-depicting-obamas-as-apes-11476698), but it was later deleted after sparking backlash from both Republicans and Democrats.
What To Know
In his Truth Social post, Trump also said Omar and Tlaib should "get on a boat" with actor Robert De Niro, who he said was "another sick and demented person."
De Niro spoke at a counter event hosted by Democrats and activists during Trump's State of the Union address, and said he felt "betrayed" by his country, Reuters reported.
Democrats hit back at Trump's attack on the congresswomen, with House of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries describing the president's comments as "xenophobic" and "disgraceful."
In an appearance on CNN, Omar said she had shouted at Trump after he said it was his responsibility to protect Americans.
"He does not acknowledge the fact that two Americans, two of my constituents, two of our neighbors were killed," said Omar, whose congressional district includes Minneapolis.
"And it was important for me to just remind the American people that the president and his administration was responsible for killing two American citizens."
The fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis last month increased scrutiny of the administration's immigration crackdown and the tactics of federal agents. [Renee Good, 37, was fatally shot](https://www.newsweek.com/ice-shooting-timeline-video-analysis-of-renee-goods-death-11328177) by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on January 7. [Alex Pretti, also 37, was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents](https://www.newsweek.com/alex-pretti-shooting-timeline-video-analysis-of-federal-agents-actions-11413877) on January 24.
Separately, Representative Al Green [was also escorted from the chamber](https://www.newsweek.com/al-green-sign-sotu-donald-trump-protest-exit-11577537) minutes into Trump's State of the Union address after holding up a sign that read: "Black People Aren't Apes!"
[The Texas Democrat told reporters](https://www.newsweek.com/al-green-speaks-out-after-removal-from-sotu-11578150) that he displayed the sign because Trump had "never apologized, he's never said it was wrong, he's expressed no regrets."
Green added: "The president is imposing racism from the highest office in the land."
What People Are Saying
Trump wrote on Truth Social, in part: "When you watch Low IQ Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, as they screamed uncontrollably last night at the very elegant State of the Union, such an important and beautiful event, they had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick who, frankly, look like they should be institutionalized. When people can behave like that, and knowing that they are Crooked and Corrupt Politicians, so bad for our Country, we should send them back from where they came — as fast as possible. They can only damage the United States of America, they can do nothing to help it. They should actually get on a boat with Trump Deranged Robert De Niro, another sick and demented person with, I believe, an extremely Low IQ, who has absolutely no idea what he is doing or saying — some of which is seriously CRIMINAL!"
White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Newsweek: "President Trump is right, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are lunatics who clearly suffer from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome."
Omar said on CNN: "The president talked about protecting Americans, and I just had to remind him that his administration was responsible for killing two of my constituents."
Tlaib wrote on X that Trump "can't take two Muslims talking back and correcting him so now he is crashing out."
Jeffries told reporters on Wednesday: "The xenophobic rhetoric of Donald Trump, you know, directed at two members of the House Democratic Caucus, of course, is sadly not surprising, but it's disgraceful. It's unpresidential, unpatriotic and un-American. But that's Donald Trump, and that was on full display for the American people yesterday."
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told Newsweek: "Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib were expressing the same outrage that other Americans feel about ICE agents lawlessly gunning down innocent people on our city streets. Responding to that legitimate outrage by demanding that two American Muslim lawmakers of color 'go back' to the countries their families came from is a racist deflection from the issue at hand."
Update 2/26/26, 9:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated with statements from the White House and Edward Ahmed Mitchell.