US President Donald Trump says two Muslim Democratic politicians should be sent back to "where they came" from after a heated exchange during his State of the Union address.
Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar and Michigan representative Rashida Tlaib shouted criticism of the president when he touted his hardline immigration enforcement during his speech on Tuesday evening, local time.
Both women said Mr Trump was "killing Americans", with Ms Omar adding that he was a "liar".
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Mr Trump said the two politicians "had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick who, frankly, look like they should be institutionalized".
"We should send them back from where they came — as fast as possible," the post read.
Ms Omar and Ms Tlaib are both US citizens.
Democrats hit back at the president's comments, with House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries describing the rhetoric as "xenophobic" and "disgraceful".
Ms Tlaib said on X that Trump's comments showed "he is crashing out".
Muslim advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations also said Trump's comments were racist.
"It's racist and bigoted to say two Muslim US lawmakers should be sent to the country they were born in or where their ancestors came from based on their criticism of the gunning down of Americans by ICE," CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Omar's guest charged
Ms Omar said earlier on Wednesday her State of the Union guest had been charged with unlawful conduct for standing in the gallery during the president's speech.
The Minnesota representative was accompanied to the event by Aliya Rahman, a US citizen who was dragged from her car and detained by federal immigration officers in Minnesota last month.
"My guest … stood up silently in the gallery during the president's speech for a short period of time, part of which other guests were also standing," Ms Omar wrote on X, where she called for an explanation of the arrest.
"For that, she was forcibly removed, despite warning officers about her injured shoulders and ultimately charged with 'Unlawful Conduct'.
"Reports indicate she was aggressively handled until someone intervened to secure medical attention."
Ms Rahman, who uses a cane to walk, told Democracy Now she was handled "so physically" that two onlookers attempted to intervene.
"Officers [were] pulling on my shoulders after I told them I have a torn rotator cuff tendon and multiple cartilage tears in both of my shoulders. That is what happened," she said.
"Only when their own sergeant intervened in a back stairwell of that building to say, 'Stop, we need to get her medical care and a wheelchair', did they stop tugging on me, while again, I was saying 'disabled'."
Ms Rahman said she was not speaking or gesturing, holding any signs or wearing protest messages when she was removed from the gallery.
"The sergeant at arms told me [I was arrested] because I was standing up silently.
"There are only two things you can do at the State of the Union, and they are sit down, and stand up. All kinds of people were standing up all night."
A statement by Capitol Police provided to CNN said Ms Rahman was arrested for "demonstrating" in the gallery:
"All State of the Union tickets clearly explain that demonstrating is prohibited. At approximately 10:07 p.m., a person in the House Gallery started demonstrating during tonight's State of the Union Address. The guest was told to sit down, but refused to obey our lawful orders. It is illegal to disrupt the Congress and demonstrate in the Congressional Buildings, so 43-year-old Aliya M. Rahman of Minneapolis, MN, was arrested for D.C. Code §10-503.16 — Unlawful Conduct, Disruption of Congress."
Administration under fire
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that members of the media had "smeared" the president as a racist.
Mr Trump's immigration enforcement actions were widely criticised in January, when two US citizens were killed by federal agents in separate incidents in Minnesota.
At least eight people have died in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centres since the start of 2026, following at least 31 deaths last year.
During his State of the Union speech, the president reiterated his accusation that Somali communities in the US have engaged in fraud and claimed "Somali pirates" had ransacked Minnesota.
His administration used such fraud allegations to deploy armed federal immigration agents in Minnesota.
Trump has cast his actions as aiming to tackle fraud and improve domestic security.
Rights groups say the crackdown has created a fearful environment and that Trump has used isolated fraud cases as an excuse to target immigrants. They also dismiss Trump's ability to tackle fraud, citing pardons from him to those who have faced fraud convictions in the past.
Trump also recently faced criticism after his social media account posted a video that contained a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama.
ABC/Reuters
