--- title: Al Green Ejected From State of the Union, Held 'Black People Aren't Apes' Sign description: Green held a sign that read, “Black People Aren’t Apes!” Later, two Democrats yelled at Trump "You killed Americans!". canonical: https://time.com/7380992/al-green-trump-protest-black-people-apes-state-of-the-union/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-02-25T03:03:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-25T04:33:48.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Al Green Ejected From State of the Union, Held 'Black People Aren't Apes' Sign og:description: Green shouted at Trump as Republicans jeered, some attempting to pull the sign from his hands og:url: https://time.com/7380992/al-green-trump-protest-black-people-apes-state-of-the-union/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9629006b185cdf1/69b048782230c5c2e5fb3088/GettyImages-2262887775.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President Trump Delivers The State Of The Union Address og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Al Green Ejected From State of the Union, Held 'Black People Aren't Apes' Sign twitter:description: Green shouted at Trump as Republicans jeered, some attempting to pull the sign from his hands twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9629006b185cdf1/69b048782230c5c2e5fb3088/GettyImages-2262887775.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Some Democrats Loudly Protested Trump's State of the Union, With One Getting Kicked Out > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=4dd61666-893d-42a2-b883-d8cd973743df&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Feb 25, 2026 4:33 AM UTCPublished: Feb 25, 2026 3:03 AM UTC  Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, protests as President Donald Trump arrives to deliver the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026 Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, protests as President Donald Trump arrives to deliver the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026 Kenny Holston-Pool—Getty Images  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Feb 25, 2026 4:33 AM UTCPublished: Feb 25, 2026 3:03 AM UTC For much of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, most Democrats followed a strategy their leaders had urged for weeks: protest without spectacle and register dissent through silence rather than confrontation. But midway through the speech, as Trump turned to the ongoing partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security and accused Democrats of endangering Americans, the fragile calm inside the House chamber evaporated, producing some of the most volatile exchanges of the evening. Progressive Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar rose repeatedly from their seats and shouted, “You killed Americans!” as the President criticized Democrats for blocking a funding bill to reopen DHS. Later, they shouted at Trump to release all the files connected to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump pointed toward the Democratic side of the chamber and responded: “These people are crazy,” he said, escalating a tense back-and-forth that unfolded as Republicans applauded and most Democrats sat stone-faced. The clashes marked a notable departure from the disciplined restraint Democrats had largely maintained earlier in the evening, when Democrats remained largely quiet as Trump spoke. The first major disruption came just minutes after Trump’s speech began, when Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat and longtime Trump critic, rose from his seat holding a sign that read, “Black People Aren’t Apes!” The message was in reference to a social media video shared by Trump earlier this month depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, which Trump later deleted but declined to apologize for posting. Green shouted toward the lectern as Republicans jeered, some attempting unsuccessfully to pull the sign from his hands. He was quickly escorted out of the chamber by the Sergeant at Arms, the [second consecutive year Green had been removed](https://time.com/7264572/al-green-trump-speech-congress-texas-democrat-mandate-protest-removed/) during a Trump address to Congress. The later confrontation over immigration enforcement stemmed from a weeks-long standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which has been partially shut down for two weeks after Senate Democrats refused to advance a Republican-backed spending bill without several measures. Those demands include requirements for court-issued warrants before agents enter private property, clear identification and badge numbers for agents, limits on masks, expanded use of body cameras, new use-of-force standards, and ensuring independent investigations of shootings. The White House and many Republicans say the Democrats' demands would hamper agents carrying out President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda. The impasse hastriggered a shutdown affecting DHS operations, including agencies responsible for immigration enforcement, airport security, and disaster response. Trump used his State of the Union speech to demand Congress restore funding immediately and urged lawmakers to pass legislation banning so-called sanctuary cities. “They have instituted another Democrat shutdown,” Trump said. “Now they have closed the agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorists and murderers… The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” When Democrats refused to applaud, Trump said they “should be ashamed.” Rep. Norma Torres, Democrat of California, silently held up a sign displaying the names and photographs of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. Even with the disruptions, the evening remained far less chaotic than some recent addresses. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries had privately urged members to stage a silent defiance, which meant a minimal applause, restrained reactions, and symbolic gestures rather than theatrical protests. Some Democrats left in the middle of Trump’s address, which, at nearly an 1 hour and 45 minutes, was the longest in history since [The American Presidency Project](https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/presidential-documents-archive-guidebook/annual-messages-congress-the-state-the-union-0) began keeping records in 1964. Several Democrats chose not to attend at all, opting instead for alternative events outside the Capitol. Yet the chamber showed few visible empty seats, filled by guests and lawmakers from both parties, creating the appearance of a full and attentive audience despite the planned absences. Many Democratic women wore white outfits honoring suffragists, while dozens of lawmakers displayed white pins reading “Release the Epstein files.” Several survivors connected to Epstein’s crimes attended as guests. Still, there were a few other periodic moments of confrontation during Trump’s address. Omar shouted that Trump is a “liar” as he alleged that “members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayers.” Then, when Trump called for the passage of a ban on members of Congress trading stocks, some Democrats shouted back: “What about you?” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7380992/al-green-trump-protest-black-people-apes-state-of-the-union/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7380992/al-green-trump-protest-black-people-apes-state-of-the-union/"},"headline":"Some Democrats Loudly Protested Trump's State of the Union, With One Getting Kicked Out","datePublished":"2026-02-25T03:03:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-25T04:33:48.000Z","description":"More volatile exchanges occurred later in the speech, as Democrats yelled, \"You killed Americans!\"","url":"https://time.com/7380992/al-green-trump-protest-black-people-apes-state-of-the-union/","keywords":["Congress"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9629006b185cdf1/69b048782230c5c2e5fb3088/GettyImages-2262887775.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9629006b185cdf1/69b048782230c5c2e5fb3088/GettyImages-2262887775.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Delivers The State Of The Union Address","caption":"President Trump Delivers The State Of The Union Address","creditText":"Kenny Holston-Pool—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7380992/al-green-trump-protest-black-people-apes-state-of-the-union/","name":"Some Democrats Loudly Protested Trump's State of the Union, With One Getting Kicked Out"}}]}] ```