Video footage captured during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night appears to show Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib chanting “KKK” while Republican lawmakers filled the House Chamber with chants of “USA.”
The clip, first flagged by reporter Matthew Foldi on X, quickly spread across social media platforms.
Foldi posted the video with the question, “Is Rashida Tlaib chanting ‘KKK’ while everyone else chants ‘USA’? Sure looks like it.”
The video had accumulated nearly 650,000 views by Wednesday afternoon.
The footage shows Tlaib turning toward fellow Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota while the Republican side of the chamber was on its feet.
Her lips appear to form the letters “K-K-K” in the same rhythm as the three-syllable chant echoing through the room.
The National Republican Congressional Committee moved swiftly to amplify the clip on Wednesday.
The NRCC posted the video on X with the statement: “Everything you need to know about today’s Democrats. They cannot stand this country, they cannot stand its comeback, and they cannot hide their contempt anymore.”
Calls for consequences against Tlaib emerged on social media.
One X user wrote: “As a black American, watching Tlaib, a non-black person chant ‘KKK’ is beyond offensive. That word carries generations of terror and pain; it’s not a prop for political theater. This is conduct unbecoming of a Member of Congress. Censure her.”
The incident unfolded during a heated stretch of Trump’s speech focused on immigration.
Trump directed attention toward Minnesota, stating, “When it comes to the corruption that is plundering America, there has been no more stunning example than Minnesota — where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer.”
Trump went further in his remarks, saying the welfare fraud “reminds us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception.”
He warned that “importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings those problems right here to the USA.”
Television cameras panned to Omar, who is Somali-born and represents Minneapolis in Congress, as the president delivered those remarks. Omar is one of the primary targets of Trump’s ongoing immigration enforcement crackdown.
Both Omar and Tlaib responded by yelling from the floor.
The pair shouted “You have killed Americans” — a reference to the deaths of two individuals during federal immigration enforcement operations earlier that month in Minnesota. The House descended into a chaotic scene as their outbursts echoed through the chamber.
Trump addressed the pair directly from the podium, calling them “a disgrace” and telling them, “You should be ashamed.”
The Republican side of the chamber erupted immediately, rising to their feet and resuming the “USA, USA” chant — the same moment captured in the viral video of Tlaib.
Tlaib also wore a “F*CK ICE” pin on her lapel throughout the evening, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She arrived wearing watermelon earrings as well.
