On Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, Democratic Representative Al Green was escorted out of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. While President Trump entered the chamber, the 79-year-old Texas lawmaker unveiled his sign that read “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES!” His silent protest was a response to Trump’s AI video, which depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. This video was originally posted on Trump’s Truth Social account in early February, reportedly due to a staff member’s error, and has since been deleted. While talking to reporters on board Air Force One, Trump defended himself by saying, “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.” Moreover, he refused to apologize for the post, claiming that he didn’t make the mistake.
During Green’s protest, he faced many challengers. In particular, House Majority Leader Representative Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, attempted to forcibly remove the sign from Green. Additionally, Republican Senators Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Pat Fallon of Texas, John McGuire of Virginia, and Roger Marshall of Kansas all attempted to stand in front of Green and block his sign from camera view. As Green was escorted out, Republican lawmakers and supporters of Trump chanted, “USA! USA!” Furthermore, White House Communications Director Steven Chueng told reporters, “Al Green is a stone cold loser who beclowns himself on a daily basis and demeans the seat he occupies in Congress. He’s is not a serious person, which is why he does unserious things.”
After he was escorted out, Green told CNN, “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.” In addition, according to Fox News, Green affirms the significance of taking a stand, stating, “Rosa Parks was alone when she was arrested in a racist Southern town, but she was there. There are times when it is, on some issues, better to stand alone than not stand at all. I stood alone, but I assure you, I will do it again because you must know that there are people who will take a stand against his insidious behavior.” He hopes his protest will inspire others, just as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. inspired him.
This is Green’s second act of protest against Trump since Trump’s return to office. During last year’s joint address to Congress, Green interrupted Trump by shouting and waving his cane at him. Green yelled, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” However, most of his speech was drowned out by others, once more chanting, “USA! USA!” as well as “Sit down!” Speaker Mike Johnson warned Green twice that if he did not sit down, then he would be removed from the chamber; however, Green refused. Soon after, Green was forcibly removed from the room. Green has openly opposed Trump since December 2017, initiating an impeachment against him by accusing him of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” As well as in December 2025, claiming that Trump is an abuser of presidential power who promotes violence and hate that is harmful to American democracy.
