Rep. Al Green Disrupts Trump’s State of the Union with ‘Black People Aren’t Apes’ Sign After President Shared Racist Obama Video

Texas Representative Al Green interrupted President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 24, by holding up a sign that read, “Black People Aren’t Apes.” The message referenced a controversial video previously shared on Trump’s Truth Social account that many critics described as racist.

Green, 78, raised the black-and-white sign while standing with the support of his cane. He was later escorted out of the chamber.

After his removal, Green spoke to NBC News and explained his actions. He said, “If you tolerate this level of racism, you perpetuate it, and I refuse to tolerate it.”

Green added that he did not want such behavior to become accepted. “I don’t want to see it normalized,” he said. “There will be no question — this is where I stand. He needs to know that there are some people who have the courage to tell him things he doesn’t want to hear. On some issues, it’s better to stand alone than not stand at all.”

The sign referred to a video Trump shared on Truth Social on February 5. The video included unproven claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. Toward the end of the clip, the faces of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama were edited onto animated apes dancing to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

The video was reposted without a caption. When asked about the post, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it came from an internet meme portraying Trump as the “King of the Jungle” and Democrats as characters inspired by The Lion King. She criticized what she described as excessive public reaction.

Later that day, the post was deleted following widespread backlash, including criticism from some Republican lawmakers. A White House official stated that the video had been shared in error by a staff member.

While speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump was asked whether he would apologize for the video. He responded that he did not believe he had made a mistake. Trump said he had only viewed the beginning of the clip and was unaware of the edited images at the end. He described the video as a parody related to The Lion King and voter fraud claims.

Since Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, Trump has continued to make claims that the election was stolen, despite multiple investigations and court rulings rejecting those allegations.

Green had previously been removed from the Capitol during Trump’s March 4, 2025, address to Congress after shouting “No mandate!” and waving his cane. Two days later, the House voted to censure Green in a 244–198 vote. Ten Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the censure, while two members, including Green, voted present.

Following the censure, several Democratic lawmakers joined Green in singing “We Shall Overcome.”