For the second year in a row, the State of the Union address was interrupted just minutes after it began. On Tuesday night, Texas Democratic Representative Al Green was escorted out of the House chamber by Capitol Police after unfurling a protest sign directed at President Donald Trump.
The hand-written sign, which Green held up as the president walked down the aisle, bore the message: “Black people aren’t apes.” Here is a breakdown of what led to the protest, the chaotic scene on the House floor, and Green’s long history of clashing with the president.
Rep. Green’s sign was a direct response to a highly controversial social media post made by the president earlier this month.
Democratic Rep. Al Green was removed from Donald Trump’s State of the Union address after holding up a sign that said “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES!”
— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 25, 2026
pic.twitter.com/pFXifFl8Tm
Trump recently shared, and later deleted, a video on his Truth Social account pushing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. The end of the clip featured a racist caricature depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, with their faces superimposed onto the bodies of dancing apes while The Lion Sleeps Tonight played in the background.
Despite intense backlash from both sides of the political aisle, the president refused to formally apologize. He claimed a staffer posted it by mistake and that he didn’t watch to the end, but told reporters aboard Air Force One, “I didn’t make a mistake.” Green’s protest brought that internet outrage directly to the physical floor of the Capitol.
The protest sparked immediate friction among lawmakers inside the chamber. As Green attempted to hold his sign up to meet the president’s line of sight, several Republican lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, reportedly tried to push the sign down to block it from the television cameras.
Undeterred by the blockade attempt, Green held his ground in the fourth row. Just as Trump took the podium to begin his address, the 78-year-old congressman raised the sign once more. This prompted Trump allies Rep. Troy Nehls and Sen. Markwayne Mullin to approach Green and intervene.
Moments later, the Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Police stepped in to officially remove Green from the floor. As he was peacefully escorted out of the chamber by law enforcement, the partisan divide in the room was on full display, with some Republican members of the audience breaking into loud chants of “USA!” as he made his exit.
If this scene felt familiar, that’s because it is. Rep. Green has built a political brand as a fierce and vocal critic of Donald Trump, proudly maintaining a stance of being “unbought, unbossed, and unafraid.”
His removal from this year’s State of the Union adds to a long list of direct confrontations between the Texas congressman and the president. Green has been challenging Trump’s actions from the very beginning. During Trump’s first term in office, he made history by becoming the very first congressman to draft and officially file articles of impeachment against the president.
That history of defiance has only continued. In fact, Green was kicked out of the State of the Union just last year. During the 2025 address, he stood up, waved his cane, and shouted at the president to protest proposed cuts to Medicaid. He was later formally censured by the House for the outburst, proving he isn’t afraid to face the consequences of making his voice heard.
