Al Green Addresses 'Black people aren't apes!' Protest After Ejection From State of the Union

al green was ejected from President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech after holding up a handwritten sign that read "Black people aren't apes!". The protest and the congressman's removal drew immediate attention because it directly referenced a racist depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama the president had shared on social media.

Al Green at the State of the Union

The Democratic congressman stood during the address and displayed the sign to make a public objection to the image that had circulated online. His action interrupted the proceedings enough that House security removed him from the chamber. Democrats in the chamber refused to stand for the president during the address, a visible expression of dissent that accompanied the ejection.

The handwritten sign: "Black people aren't apes!"

The phrase on the placard was unambiguous: "Black people aren't apes!". Green said the message was tied to the online image he was protesting, using the handwritten message to call attention to what he characterized as racist content shared by the president. The wording of the sign became the focal point for both the protest and the ensuing removal.

Racist depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama shared by the president

Green's protest explicitly referenced a racist depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama that the president had shared on social media. That sharing prompted Green to act in the chamber; he framed his intervention as a response to the president's behavior online. The connection between the social media post and the in-person protest established a clear cause-and-effect chain: the president's sharing of the image produced a public censure on the House floor.

Ejection and Green's comments to journalists

After being removed from the State of the Union, Green spoke with journalists and explained his motive. He said he had wanted to take a stand against the president doing "these dastardly things with impunity. " That remark framed his ejection as the direct consequence of a deliberate act of protest aimed at challenging the president's conduct.

Democrats refuse to stand for Trump

The refusal of Democrats to stand for the president during the address accompanied Green's ejection and underscored partisan tension in the chamber. The coordinated refusal to rise, paired with Green's visible protest, made the episode a collective rebuke rather than an isolated outburst.

What makes this notable is the direct line drawn between content shared online and actions taken in the nation’s foremost legislative forum: a social media post of a racist depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama prompted a congressman's public protest at the State of the Union, which in turn produced an enforced ejection and a wider display of partisan dissent. The episode combined an explicit written message, a named target for that message, and an immediate institutional response, all of which were confirmed by Green's own post-ejection statement.