Hawaii Dem reveals why she stayed seated during Trump's viral SOTU moment about prioritizing Americans

A voter approached Tokuda about the moment two weeks later, pressing her on why she didn't stand.

"The statement was: 'The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.' I noticed you did not stand," a voter who identified herself as Arline said.

"I'd like to know your reasoning why you did not stand."

"But that decision was easy for me," Tokuda said.

"If it had been a genuine question, a true question - not a ploy to be able to put on some commercial later on to say 'look at all those Democrats who don't believe in protecting Americans' - I absolutely would have stood," Tokuda said.

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

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

In the past, Tokuda has criticized Trump's immigration crackdown efforts for hitting close to home.

"There [are] too many looking over their shoulder and fearing for their lives right now."

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