Rep. Al Green ejected from State of the Union for second year in a row
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- Rep. Al Green ejected from Trump's State of the Union for anti-racism protest.
- Green waved a sign referencing Trump’s controversial video depicting the Obamas as apes.
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was forcibly removed from the House chamber Tuesday night during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, marking the second consecutive year he has been ejected while Trump spoke to Congress.
Green was seen waving a sign that read “Black People Aren’t Apes,” referencing a social media video posted by Trump earlier this month that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
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As staff escorted him from the chamber, Green waved the sign toward the Republican side, where Rep. Troy Nehls, a fellow Texan, attempted to grab it.
“Judging from the expression on his face, he got the message,” Green said of Trump after the incident. “He saw it, he got the message.”
Green defended his protest, citing a long history of civil rights activism. “Now, there are people who believe that I should not take a stand such as this,” he said. “There are others who have taken stands, and they, too, have been vilified. Dr. King went to jail for taking a stand. Rosa Parks went to jail for taking a stand. Sometimes you have to take a stand.”
The Texas congressman, a prominent critic of Trump and vocal supporter of his impeachment, emphasized the deliberate nature of his protest this year. “The first time it was spontaneity. This time it was with intentionality,” Green said. “I wanted to make sure that I got a message to him. That’s why I took the seat where I was on the aisle, so that I could give it to him personally.”
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Green also noted that while he believes others share his views, few take such direct action. Last year, he was removed for standing and shaking his cane toward Trump during a joint address to Congress.
Green is currently campaigning in a highly contested primary for Texas’s newly drawn 18th District, which includes Houston. He faces Rep. Christian Menefee, who won a recent special election to replace the late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner. Green has highlighted his ejections in campaign ads as examples of standing up for justice, saying, “When I stood up, it wasn’t for attention. It was because some things are worth standing for.”
Trump has not apologized for the video, which combined false claims of 2020 election fraud with images of the Obamas superimposed on cartoon apes. After widespread backlash, including from some Republicans, Trump removed the video and condemned its racist elements.
