U.S. Rep. Al Green of Texas was escorted out of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Just as Trump's speech began Tuesday, Green could be seen displaying a sign that said, "Black people aren't apes."
“The presidential election of Nov. 5 was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades,” Trump said as he began his speech.
“You have no mandate,” Green, a Democrat, countered. Republicans quickly jumped to their feet with chants of “USA! USA!”
Green was then removed from the House chamber. Republican members cheered at his removal, shouting “Get out!” and “Goodbye!” at the lawmaker. Green shouted, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” at Trump before police escorted him from the chamber. The House later voted to censure Green.
Protest over racist video
Green's sign references a video that was posted to Trump's social media account and depicted former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as primates in the jungle.
The video, which has since been taken down, was widely denounced as racist and prompted bipartisan backlash.
“I wanted the president to see it, and he saw it, and I told him, Black people are not apes, and for him to do what he did was racist, and he knows it. But sometimes we have to let him know in the public that we know it,” the Texas Democrat told CNN after he was escorted out.
Trump told reporters he hadn't seen the offensive part of the video before it was posted to his social media account, which he said was done by a staffer.
The video shared on the president's Truth Social account was largely about election conspiracy theories. In the final seconds, the video flips to a depiction of the Obamas as apes.
"I didn’t see the whole thing. I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of a picture that people don’t like. I wouldn’t like it either, but I didn’t see it. I just looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud and the machines," Trump said.
Not the first disruption
This isn't the first time Green has had to leave a Trump address. Last year, he was escorted out after disrupting Trump's speech to Congress.
In Trump's 2025 address, Green was escorted out after shouting responses to the speech.
Who Is Al Green?
Green is a member of the House of Representatives serving Texas's 9th congressional district. His district encompasses southwestern Houston and part of Fort Bend County.
Green, a Texas Democrat, has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2005.
The New Orleans native has spent two decades representing the state’s ninth congressional district, which includes the southwestern part of the greater Houston area.
Green was reelected in November after running unopposed. He is also involved in the Committee on Homeland Security and Financial Services Committee.
