Rashida Tlaib: I Was ‘Triggered’ by Brett Kavanaugh, Walked Out of State of the Union

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) told MSNBC on Tuesday evening that the reason she walked out of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Speech was that she was “triggered” by the mention of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

President Trump mentioned Kavanaugh as he recalled his administration’s rapid progress in confirming new judges to the federal bench, including Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.

The camera panned to the justices, all of whom smiled — including liberal Justice Elena Kagan.

But for Tlaib, it was simply too much to bear, as she told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow:

I think, you know, even the mention of Brett Kavanaugh for me is a trigger, just as a woman in America, the fact that he, you know, rightfully was accused [sic] and having an incredibly strong woman come before the public and the world and tell her story of sexual assault by this person that was appointed to the Supreme Court is just alone, that — I couldn’t stand still and not do anything about it, and I needed to walk away from that.

Kavanaugh was targeted with unproven and uncorroborated allegations of sexual assault during his confirmation hearing in 2018. Democrats then promised to impeach him, but have yet to do so.

Tlaib also participated in a protest during the speech, raising her hand, extending three fingers, and chanting “H.R. 3!” together with fellow left-wing “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and others.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.