Democratic Rep. Al Green removed from State of the Union address holding sign: ‘Black people aren’t apes’

WASHINGTON – A prominent Democratic lawmaker was removed from President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. 

Rep. Al Green was forcibly taken from the House floor shortly after the president stepped up to the podium — again. 

Al Green removed

What happened:

Green was escorted out, holding a sign that read “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES.” 

The sign was in reference to a video that Trump posted on Truth Social earlier this month that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. 

The clip appeared near the end of a minute-long video boasting falsehoods about the 2020 election. It was near the end when the Obama’s faces appeared, superimposed on the bodies of apes as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played in the background. 

READ MORE: Trump shares video of Obamas as apes in Truth Social post

The clip was part of a longer, AI-generated video shared in October on X called “President Trump: King of the Jungle.” The longer video shows other Democrats depicted as various animals, like former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris as zebras. Trump himself was portrayed as a lion in the video, which ends with the other animals bowing down to him. 

The post sparked intense outrage online, and many lawmakers directly chastised the president for what they said was an outright display of racism. 

Depictions of Black people as apes or monkeys have persisted as a slander throughout American history, meant to dehumanize and “stereotype Blacks as lazy, dim and aggressive,” writes Phillip Atiba Solomon, the lead author of a 2008 study about the connection between discrimination and comparing Black people to apes.  

Who is Al Green? 

His background:

Al Green, 78, is a Democratic representative for the 9th District of Texas. He was elected in 2020, beginning his ninth term in the United States House of Representatives on Jan. 3, 2021.

Green currently serves on the Financial Services Committee as well as the Committee on Homeland Security, and is Chair of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee. He is also a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus. 

According to his biography, Green, considers himself a liberated Democrat, “unbought, unbossed and unafraid.” He previously led an impeachment effort against Trump during his first presidential term. 

He was similarly removed from Trump’s State of the Union address in 2025, just minutes in. 

RELATED: Democratic Rep. Al Green removed from chamber minutes into Trump’s speech

“The presidential election of Nov. 5 was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades,” Trump said as he began his speech last year. 

“He has no mandate,” Green yelled, pointing toward the president.  

House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed the gavel and called for order, telling Green to take his seat. When Green refused to sit down, Johnson ordered that he be forcefully removed from the chamber.