Rep. Omar Doesn't Regret Yelling at SOTU Address

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said Wednesday she has no regrets about shouting at President Donald Trump as he gave his State of the Union address the night before, brushing off repeated solicitations from CNN's Wolf Blitzer to retract her statements or express remorse for her conduct.

Omar appeared on "The Situation Room" after video spread on social media showing her yelling at the president as he spoke about enforcement of federal immigration law.

Seated beside fellow liberal Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Omar shouted several times and accused Trump of being responsible for the deaths of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot by federal immigration agents in January.

One of Omar's guests, Aliya Rahman, was reportedly arrested by Capitol Police after allegedly causing a disruption.

Blitzer noted that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., had advised Democrats who objected to Trump's address to skip the speech entirely or protest silently.

"Should you have just boycotted the address? And do you think you violated the guidelines set out by your own leader?" Blitzer asked.

Omar dismissed the suggestion.

"No, I think it was really unavoidable," she said. "The president talked about protecting Americans, and I just had to remind him that his administration was responsible for killing two of my constituents."

Blitzer pressed her again, pointing out that Democrats previously criticized Republicans who interrupted President Joe Biden's State of the Union address.

"Many members of your Democratic Party criticized their Republican counterparts when they interrupted President Biden's State of the Union address, as a lot of us remember," he said. "Do you have any regrets at all about the interaction we played between you and President Trump just last night?"

"I do not," Omar said. "And I think many people look at that moment when the president says it is our responsibility to protect Americans, and he does not acknowledge the fact that two Americans, two of my constituents, two of our neighbors, were killed.

"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."

Blitzer tried again, asking whether, in hindsight, she would have done anything differently — including boycotting the address. Omar refused to back down, arguing it was important for her and her guests to be present.

The lawmaker said she attended with four guests from Minnesota and argued it mattered for her constituents to see her there in person.

"It was important for us to be there to bear witness, to hold the space for our constituents that have lived through an occupation from federal law enforcement, that have been terrorized, that have seen our neighbors been killed and traumatized in so many ways," Omar said.

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