Megyn Kelly ripped into Rep. Ilhan Omar for her relentless heckling of President Trump during Tuesday night's State of the Union, comparing the Democrat's behavior to a now-infamous outburst by a Tourette's Syndrome campaigner at the BAFTAs.
Kelly didn't mince words. She called Omar "incapable of controlling her foul mouth" and demanded real consequences.
She should be censured. She should absolutely face discipline in the house as a result of this.
Omar and fellow Democrat Rashida Tlaib hollered in tandem throughout the address, calling Trump a "liar" and claiming he had American blood on his hands. Republicans in the chamber responded with chants of "USA, USA." The contrast told its own story.
Kelly drew a pointed comparison to activist John Davidson, 54, who unwittingly caused a massive backlash after verbally accosting actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo at the BAFTAs. Davidson, who was invited because a film about his life and struggles with Tourette's was up for an award, was heard yelling the N-word as the two actors took the stage to present. He decided to leave the ceremony halfway through after a series of outbursts and later said he was "mortified."
According to the Daily Mail, Kelly's comparison was surgical. Davidson has a neurological condition. Omar has a political one. On her show, Kelly laid out the parallel:
Truly it was, it was like the guy at the BAFTAs. Yelling 'F*** you. Go f*** yourself' at every turn and some worse things than that. That's her. She looked at it and thought, #Goals.
Davidson's outbursts were involuntary. Omar's were a choice. That's what makes the comparison sting.
While Omar was busy performing for the cameras, the rest of the country was actually watching the speech. And they liked what they saw.
A CNN poll found that 64 percent of viewers responded positively to the address. That's CNN's own audience, which skews left on its best day. Trump's address ran just under one hour and 48 minutes, making it the longest in American history, and still managed to hold the room.
Kelly noted the substance behind the spectacle:
He acknowledged the grief and the pain of those who have suffered losses from the Democrats' radical policies on crime and the border, that was smart and honest, and the speech appeared to be a big success.
The President shamed Democrats for refusing to stand for the protection of American citizens over illegal aliens. Some lawmakers couldn't even manage that baseline. The moment crystalized a divide that no amount of progressive spin can paper over: one side honored war heroes and Olympic champions, and the other side screamed from the cheap seats.
Kelly highlighted the people the White House chose to recognize:
I mean, amazing people were highlighted, hats off to the White House team for choosing truly incredible folks like our war heroes, Olympic champions, of course, the guys did show up from the hockey team, and our friend Charlie Kirk.
The President followed up with a blistering post on Truth Social aimed directly at both Omar and Tlaib:
When you watch Low IQ Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, as they screamed uncontrollably last night at the very elegant State of the Union, such an important and beautiful event, they had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick who, frankly, look like they should be institutionalized.
The deeper problem isn't one bad night. It's the calculation behind it. Omar and Tlaib didn't lose control. They made a decision. They decided that turning the State of the Union into a shouting match would play well with their base, that the clip would circulate, that the outrage would raise money.
And maybe it will, in certain zip codes. But 64 percent of viewers saw something else entirely. They saw a President delivering a substantive address while members of Congress behaved like hecklers at a comedy club. That's not resistance. That's a tantrum with a fundraising link.
The left has spent years insisting that "norms matter" and that the dignity of democratic institutions must be preserved. Apparently that principle expires the moment a Republican is at the podium. Not one Democrat leader condemned the disruption. Not one called for decorum. Not one acknowledged that the State of the Union belongs to the country, not to their grievance caucus.
BAFTAs host Alan Cumming at least had the grace to say, "We apologise if it has caused offense." No such courtesy from the Democratic side of the aisle.
John Davidson was mortified by what his condition made him do. Omar will put it in her highlight reel.
