President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address devolved into a raw, unfiltered confrontation Tuesday night as Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar repeatedly heckled the president over his accusations of massive fraud and his administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement.
The most explosive moment occurred when President Trump singled out Minnesota’s Somali American community, alleging they had "pillaged" an estimated $19 billion from taxpayers. "The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption, and lawlessness are the norm," Trump declared, as reported by CBS News.
Rep. Omar, herself a Somali American, immediately shouted back from her seat, "That’s a lie! You’re a liar!" The $19 billion figure cited by the president has been widely disputed by fact-checkers, who noted that while the Justice Department has investigated significant fraud in Minnesota, the total amount billed by the programmes in question since 2018 was roughly $18 billion, making the $19 billion fraud claim mathematically impossible.
The tension escalated as the president turned to "Operation Metro Surge", his administration's massive immigration enforcement initiative. As Trump defended the necessity of the operations to "protect American citizens", Omar and Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) began chanting, "You’re killing Americans!"
The lawmakers were referencing the recent deaths of U.S. citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot by federal agents during immigration raids in Minneapolis. Trump fired back directly at the shouting Democrats, saying, "You should be ashamed of yourself, not standing up," after they remained seated during his call to prioritise citizens over undocumented immigrants.
The 108-minute speech, the longest in history, underscored the deep polarisation of the 119th Congress. While Republicans frequently cheered and gave standing ovations, several Democrats, including Omar and Tlaib, eventually walked out of the chamber in protest. Outside the House floor, critics argued the president’s rhetoric stigmatised an entire community, while the White House maintained that the "war on fraud" led by Vice President JD Vance is essential to national integrity.