Al Green gets thrown out of Trump’s State of the Union for the second year in a row, but this time his sign stopped the whole room cold

Representative Al Green, a Democrat from Texas, was removed from President Trump’s State of the Union address for the second time during a presidential speech. But unlike his first removal, this time it was not a shouted protest that got him ejected. Instead, it was a silent sign that brought the entire room to a halt.

Green, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, held up a sign that read, “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES!” The message was a direct reference to a video President Trump had shared on social media earlier in February, which depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. The video was later deleted.

According to The Washington Post, Green was positioned at the front and center of the chamber, with his sign already visible before President Trump even walked in. Some Republicans tried to get him to put it down, and a few attempted to physically take it from his hands. Green held his ground and kept the sign up silently as the president began his speech.

Green’s silent protest proved more disruptive than shouting ever could

The ejection happened less than two minutes into President Trump’s speech, right as the president was saying that the United States was “bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before.” Green was escorted out of his seat, and as he walked up the aisle, he was seen shaking his cane and exchanging tense words with Republican lawmakers. 

Trump’s rhetoric has drawn criticism on multiple fronts, including how Greenland’s leader responded to Trump’s repeated outbursts. Representative Pat Fallon, a Republican from Texas, was one of those who grabbed at the sign. He later said in a text message that he “simply told him it was shameful.”

This was not Green’s first removal during a presidential address. He was also ejected last March when President Trump spoke to a joint session of Congress. That time, Green had been shouting that Trump had “no mandate” to cut Medicaid. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a gavel warning, and when Green refused to sit down, the sergeant at arms was directed to remove him. The broader Democratic response to this year’s State of the Union was also notable. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had told Democratic members that he expected them to attend “in silent defiance.”

However, more than two dozen Democrats skipped the address entirely and attended an alternative event instead. Trump’s foreign policy agenda has also faced scrutiny, with questions raised about Trump’s $10 billion Gaza peace pledge and what his broader plans in the region actually look like.

That event, called the “People’s State of the Union,” was a rally held on the National Mall by various progressive groups. Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, explained their absence to the crowd, saying, “These are not normal times, and Democrats have to stop behaving normally.”