Security escorted Rep. Al Green (D-TX) out of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday after he held up a sign proclaiming “Black People Aren’t Apes,” a reference to a racist video Trump’s Truth Social account shared that depicted former President Barack Obama as an ape.
It was the second consecutive year Green was evicted from a Trump speech after he heckled the president during Trump’s joint address to Congress last year.
A spokesperson for Green did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
Green held the sign up as Trump walked through the House chamber toward the rostrum, prompting some fury among House Republicans. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) pulled it down, according to CNN reporter Manu Raju.
Green held up a sign despite House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) urging Democrats to restrain themselves during Trump’s speech, proposing they engage in “silent defiance” or opt not to attend at all.
Jeffries opted to attend the speech. “It’s my view that you don’t let anyone ever run you off of your block,” he told reporters last week.
Speaking about potential repercussions, Green told reporters after that “the consequences were of no consequence to me. You have to take a stand.”
The video Green referenced, which Trump’s Truth Social account posted earlier this month, depicted a variety of Democrats as jungle animals, including Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. A bipartisan cohort of lawmakers condemned the White House for the racist video, including top Trump ally Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
The video was eventually taken down. Trump later blamed an unnamed staffer for sharing it, but he declined to apologize for the video when speaking to reporters. “No, I didn’t make a mistake,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered Green out of the House Chamber during Trump’s joint address to Congress last year after he shouted at Trump that he didn’t “have a mandate” that warranted cuts to Medicaid as House Republicans searched for spending cuts. Green said at the time he was “willing to suffer whatever punishment” he faced to defend the program.
