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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Democrats âfell right intoâ a political âtrapâ set by President Donald Trump during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, explaining that their reaction to the recognition of crime victims exposed their âtrue colorsâ on immigration and public safety.
âThey fell right into it because they cannot help themselves. They truly stand on the side of the tens of millions of illegal aliens who they allowed to pour into our nationâs open borders under the Biden administration. They truly stand on the side of career criminals who have gone to jail not once, not twice, not three times, but 12 times in the case of [Iryna Zarutska] ⊠whose neck was slit by a career criminal who was released back onto the streets of North Carolina by Democrat policies,â Leavitt said during an interview on Fox News with host Sean Hannity.
âThey could not even stand for her heartbroken mother, who President Trump was commending last night. They couldnât even stand for a young girl [Dalilah Coleman] who is now suffering a brain problem for the rest of her life because of an illegal alien truck driver who smashed into her familyâs vehicle,â Leavitt continued.
Leavittâs comments came after most of the Democratic lawmakers in the House on Tuesday did not stand and applaud when Trump honored a few victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, political violence, and policies that are too lenient on crime.
Anna Zarutska, the mother of Charlotte rail-stabbing victim Iryna Zarutska, and 7-year-old Dalilah Coleman, who was seriously hurt in a car accident with an illegal immigrant driving an 18-wheel tractor-trailer, were both honored.
During the speech, Trump also honored Erika Kirk, the widow of his late friend and co-founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk.
Leavitt called the Democratsâ actions âdespicable,â but she praised Trumpâs âbrilliantâ idea to put them on the national stage by challenging lawmakers to stand if they thought protecting the interests of American citizens was more important than protecting those of illegal immigrants.
âIt was his idea to put that into the speech, and it proved to be right, because he wanted the American people to know that this is a choice between common sense, and President Trump, and Republicans and crazy radical Democrats who stand for nothing except for being against Donald Trump,â she said.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) struggled to maintain control over his conference during a lively State of the Union address on Tuesday night. During the speech, Donald Trump provoked Democrats, leading to numerous outbursts and taunts from the audience.
Prior to the event, Jeffries had instructed his caucus to either remain in âsilent defianceâ or to skip the speech entirely. However, as soon as Trump began speaking, House Democrats quickly disregarded Jeffriesâ directive.
Rep. Al Green (D-TX) started the event by getting himself removed from the well of the chamber for holding a sign that read, âBlack people arenât apes!â It was in response to a widely condemned video posted by Trump on Truth Social, which depicted the Obamas as monkeys. Itâs important to note that the video was not edited or created by Trump or his team.
The incident echoed last yearâs events when Representative Green was reprimanded for a confrontation with Trump, during which he waved a cane. As before, Trump chose to ignore Green, letting the disruption become a spectacle in itself.
Other Democrats also gave Trump some political ammunition as his address stretched nearly two hours. Representatives Lauren Underwood (D-IL), Bill Foster (D-IL), and Madeline Dean (D-PA) stood up and left the chamber midway through Trumpâs speech in protest, the Washington Examiner reported.
Trump received the strongest reactions when he asked the entire chamber to stand if they believed the U.S. governmentâs priority should be placing American citizens ahead of illegal aliens. When Democrats did not stand, Trump quickly capitalized on the moment.
âYou should be ashamed of yourself for not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourself,â Trump said.
The comments prompted a strong reaction from Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
They accused the president of being responsible for the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two U.S. citizens who were shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year.
