TV cameras captured the moment Rep. Al Green held a sign that said “Black people aren’t apes,” while a White House representative criticized Green in a statement to EW.

Congressman holding sign aimed at Donald Trump ejected from State of the Union address

TV cameras captured the moment Rep. Al Green held a sign that said "Black people aren't apes," while a White House representative criticized Green in a statement to EW.

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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on February 24, 2026 11:01 p.m. ET

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Al Green holds up 'Black People Aren't Apes' sign behind Donald Trump at State of the Union address. Credit:

Rep. Al Green had a clear message for Donald Trump during Tuesday night's State of the Union address — and he was ejected from the United States Capitol chamber as a result, per multiple reports.

During the evening's event in Washington, D.C., the Texas congressman protested Trump's recent controversy that earlier saw the president share a racist *Lion King* parody video to his Truth Social account that depicted President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.

As Trump approached the podium to speak, Green held up a sign that read, "Black people aren't apes!" in all capital letters.

** viewed the moment as it unfolded live on ABC's broadcast of the State of the Union address, with reporter Rachel Scott commenting on Green's statement in real time.**

Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty

"Look at this: Congressman Al Green holding up a sign — I believe I'm looking at it right now — it said something in reference to apes. 'Black people are not apes,' in reference to that post the president had on his social media account," Scott said live on the air. "That, clearly a sign of protest there."

When EW reached out to the White House for comment, communications director Steven Cheung replied via email, saying, "Al Green is a stone cold loser who beclowns [sic] himself on a daily basis and demeans the seat he occupies in Congress. He’s is not a serious person, which is why he does unserious things."

Green was previously removed from Congress by Speaker Mike Johnson, who had him ejected over an outburst in March 2025.**

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Earlier in February, Trump refused to apologize for posting the aforementioned video, despite widespread criticism from figures on both sides of the political aisle.

"No, I didn't make a mistake," he told reporters on Air Force One, days after the video was initially shared (and later removed from his Truth Social account).

The clip was set to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" song, with accompanying footage showing Trump's face edited onto the body of a lion. Joe Biden was additionally depicted as a primate, while Kamala Harris was shown as a turtle.

EW previously learned that the video was posted erroneously by a White House staffer, and it was eventually deleted from Trump's page.

US President Donald Trump during a Mexican Border Defense medal presentation in Washington, DC., on Dec. 15, 2025.

Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty

"I mean, I look at a lot of thousands of things. I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine," the president eventually said of the video. "I guess it was a takeoff on *The Lion King*, and certainly it was a very strong post in terms of voter fraud." (Trump has made numerous false claims about election fraud, particularly related to the 2020 election he lost to Biden.)

"Nobody knew that that was in the end," he added. "If they would have seen it and probably they would have had the sense to take it down."

EW's sister publication, PEOPLE, also received a statement on the matter from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in which she said, "This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from *The Lion King. *Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public."

The moment sparked intense criticism from many public figures, including *The View* cohost Sunny Hostin, who called Trump a racist last week on a live broadcast.

Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and Savannah Chrisley on The View.

"Let's call a thing a thing. Donald Trump is a racist. There's no question in my mind," Hostin said. "The most recent thing that he did by posting on Truth Social the Obamas depicted as apes in *The Lion King, *[when] there are no apes in *The Lion King*, that was a racist act. He tried to blame a staffer."

Fill-in cohost Savannah Chrisley — whose parents Julie and Todd (the *Chrisley Knows Best* reality TV stars) were pardoned by Trump — maintained to Hostin that "it was, in fact, a staffer who posted it," despite not providing any proof as to how she knew that information.

At the time, in response to Hostin's words on *The View*, the White House alleged in an email statement to EW that the former federal prosecutor suffered "from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome" and that "No President has done more for Black Americans than President Trump has."

See Green's sign in the image at the top of this post.

*: This article has been with a response from the White House and news that Green was removed from the chamber.*

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