Deep partisan divisions erupted on the floor of the US Congress when Representative Al Green was forcibly removed for protesting a racist video targeting former President Barack Obama.

The solemn, highly orchestrated tradition of the State of the Union address was violently shattered by raw partisan fury as Democratic Representative Al Green was forcibly ejected. His offense was silently protesting a deeply racist video recently shared by the President on social media.

Brandishing a stark, handwritten sign declaring "BLACK PEOPLE AREN'T APES," the Texas lawmaker's expulsion highlighted the toxic, unrelenting racial animus currently simmering within American politics. The protest, directly referencing a derogatory depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama, reverberated profoundly across East Africa, where the former president's Kenyan heritage remains a source of immense pride.

The Silent Stand in the Chamber

As President Trump entered the House chamber to roaring applause from his party, Representative Green situated himself prominently in the center aisle. He stood his ground, silently holding his sign high for the cameras. The backlash was immediate and physical. Multiple Republican representatives aggressively asked him to lower the sign, while others blatantly attempted to snatch it from his hands.

Less than two minutes into Trump's address—just as the president boasted that the United States was "bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before"—Green was unceremoniously escorted from his seat by congressional staff, clutching his walking stick and his unwavering message.

The Catalyst of Outrage

The sheer outrage driving Green's protest stems from a highly inflammatory video Trump shared on his Truth Social platform earlier this month. The minute-long clip, which boasted falsehoods about the 2020 election, concluded with the faces of Barack and Michelle Obama grotesquely superimposed onto the bodies of apes.

• The racist trope comparing Black individuals to primates is one of the most deeply offensive historical slurs in existence.
• Despite intense bipartisan backlash and the subsequent deletion of the video, Trump categorically refused to issue an apology.
• Green, a veteran member of the Congressional Black Caucus, determined that silent complicity in the presence of the President was morally unacceptable.

Physical Confrontations and Ejection

As Green walked back up the aisle toward the exit, the atmosphere turned extraordinarily hostile. He engaged in tense, acrimonious exchanges with Republican lawmakers. Representative Troy Nehls from Texas was seen aggressively confronting Green, while Senator Markwayne Mullin approached him menacingly. Meanwhile, a contingent of Republicans began chanting "USA! USA!" as the 78-year-old civil rights veteran was pushed out.

Green's seat remained empty for the duration of the 108-minute speech, marked only by a cardboard placeholder bearing his name—a stark visual representation of the deep fractures within the American legislature.

The Kenyan Resonance

While the protest occurred in Washington, the shockwaves were felt immediately in Nairobi and across East Africa. Barack Obama's deep ancestral roots in Siaya County, Kenya, make any racial attack against him a deeply personal affront to the region. The visceral reaction of African audiences to such overt, unapologetic anti-Black racism on the global stage serves as a stark reminder that the fight for racial dignity remains an international battle.

For many Kenyans observing the chaotic broadcast, the incident underscored the alarming mainstreaming of white nationalist rhetoric in Western democracies, fundamentally altering their perception of American moral leadership.

A History of Defiant Activism

This is not an isolated incident for Representative Green. He holds the distinction of being the first member of Congress to formally call for Trump's impeachment in 2017. Furthermore, he was ejected from last year's State of the Union for verbally protesting the administration's proposed cuts to Medicaid.

"A single piece of cardboard held in silent, unwavering defiance exposed more about the true state of the union than a hundred minutes of presidential rhetoric ever could," a prominent civil rights historian concluded.