Mere minutes into President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was ejected from the chamber, apparently for holding a sign in protest that read, “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES!”
The sign was a reference to a video Trump shared on social mediaearlier this month that depicted former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. Though Trump later deleted the racist video, he refused to apologize for sharing it.
Green, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, was situated toward the front and center of the chamber and was holding his sign even before the president entered the room. Some Republicans asked him to put down his sign, while others tried to grab it from his hands.
Green remained standing and silently held his sign even after Trump began speaking.
Less than two minutes into Trump’s address — as the president declared the United States was “bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before” — Green was escorted from his seat.
As Green walked back up the aisle, he could be seen shaking his cane and exchanging tense words with Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), who grabbed at the sign.
“I simply told him it was shameful,” Fallon told The Washington Post afterward in a text message.
Green was also kicked out of the chamber last Marchwhen Trump addressed a joint session of Congress.
That time, Green shouted out at Trump — yelling that he had “no mandate” to cut Medicaid — which prompted a gavel warning from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana). After Green continued shouting and refused to take a seat, Johnson directed the sergeant at arms to remove Green from the chamber.
Representatives for Green’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday night.
On Monday night, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) said he expected Democratic members attending the State of the Union address to be there “in silent defiance.”
More than two dozen Democratic lawmakers were absent from the chamber entirely Tuesday night, opting instead to attend the “People’s State of the Union,” a rally on the National Mall hosted by numerous progressive groups.
“These are not normal times, and Democrats have to stop behaving normally,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) told a crowd gathered for the alternate event, explaining why he and others were skipping the president’s address.
Matthew Choi and Mariana Alfaro contributed to this report.
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