Rep. Jill Tokuda explains why she didn’t stand during Trump’s viral SOTU moment

Rep. Jill Tokuda, Democrat of Hawaii, said she had no hesitation in remaining in her seat during the 2026 State of the Union when President Donald Trump challenged lawmakers to stand up if they agreed the U.S. government should prioritize the safety of its citizens over that of illegal aliens.

Like each of her Democratic colleagues, Tokuda, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, stayed put as Republicans stood for more than a minute and a half, clapping in support of the president’s statement.

A voter contacted Tokuda about two weeks later, explaining why she didn’t show up.

“The statement read: ‘The first duty of the United States government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.’ I noticed you didn’t introduce yourself,” said a voter who identified herself as Arline.

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Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, attends the State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on February 24, 2026. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“I’d like to know the reason you didn’t stay up.”

After some brief applause from the audience, Tokuda thanked Arline for her question, pointing out that lawmakers don’t always get easy questions during town hall meetings.

“But this decision was easy for me,” Tokuda said.

She said her reaction was based on her interpretation of Trump’s challenge, saying she believed the president did not intend to gain support for the statement.

“If that had been a real question, a real question — not a ploy so I could run an ad later to say ‘look at all these Democrats who don’t believe in protecting Americans’ — I absolutely would have responded,” Tokuda said.

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Trump delivers the first official State of the Union of his second term. (Getty Images)

Tokuda did not reference this moment in his immediate reactions to the State of the Union.

Instead, on her website, she focused on Trump’s tariffs.

“If you look at the tariffs and the hundreds of billions of dollars that those tariffs have imposed on ordinary Americans…the hundreds of billions of dollars that he collects in tariffs have been a tax on ordinary people,” Tokuda said, highlighting comments made to a local media outlet.

In the past, Tokuda has criticized Trump’s immigration crackdown efforts because they hit close to home.

“We are all one degree removed from knowing someone who is currently living in fear, worried that they might be stopped on the street or deported, even if they have no reason to do so,” Tokuda told the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) last year.

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The Trump administration has reaffirmed that all illegal immigrants are eligible for deportation as it focuses on arresting violent criminals first. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

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“There [are] Too many people are looking over their shoulder and fearing for their lives right now.”

Tokuda’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.