Democrat Al Green removed from Trump’s address after protest poster on racism. Photo: X.
Al Green, a Democratic congressman from Texas, was escorted out of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday after he displayed a white poster reading, “Black people aren’t apes.”
As the president entered the House chamber, Republican leaders and lawmakers moved quickly to hide the sign from public view. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise appeared to swipe toward the poster, while Representatives Pat Fallon of Texas and John McGuire of Virginia attempted to block it from television cameras.
Representative Troy Nehls of Texas was seen trying to persuade Green to lower the sign. Republican Senators Markwayne Mullin and Roger Marshall also stepped in front of the poster shortly before Green was removed from the chamber.
The message on Green’s poster appeared to reference a video that Trump had reposted on Truth Social depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The White House later removed the video, and Trump said it had been posted by a staff member.
This incident was not the first time Green had been escorted out during a Trump address. Last year, he was removed after protesting during the president’s speech to a joint session of Congress. The Texas Democrat was ejected at the direction of House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had repeatedly warned him to stop interrupting the president.
During Trump’s 2025 address, Green had also been escorted out after shouting responses while the president spoke.
“The presidential election of Nov. 5 was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades,” Trump said as he began his remarks.
“You have no mandate,” Green countered from the chamber floor.
Republicans quickly responded by rising to their feet and chanting, “USA! USA!” before Green was removed.
Green represents Texas’s 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, an area that includes southwestern Houston and part of Fort Bend County.
He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and attended Florida A&M University, Howard University, and Tuskegee Institute. Although he did not complete an undergraduate degree, he later enrolled at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor in 1973. As a law student, he received awards in Federal Procedure and Conflicts.
Speaking to CNN after being escorted out, Green defended his actions.
“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 said.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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