President Donald Trump spoke before a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, delivering a highly partisan and sometimes vitriolic State of the Union address. Dozens of Democratic legislators boycotted the speech, while Reps. Al Green and Ilhan Omar spoke out against Trump during it.
Rep. Al Green and other Democrats display criticisms of Trump as some colleagues skip his speech
One of the most contentious moments of Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address started even before Trump began his speech. As Trump entered the chamber and mingled with the crowd on the way to the podium, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who heckled Trump during last year’s speech, held up a sign that read “Black People Aren’t Apes,” an apparent reference to the racist video Trump reshared that portrayed former President Barack and first lady Michelle Obama as apes. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., pulled Green’s sign down, and Green was later escorted out of the chamber while again raising the sign.
As has been the case during other Trump addresses before Congress, the Democratic side of the chamber mostly stayed seated during Trump’s speech, even as Republicans regularly stood to applaud. The Democratic side of the aisle was also partially empty, with dozens of Democrats boycotting the speech; some instead attended an alternative People’s State of the Union event held Tuesday night. Several of the Democrats who did attend drew attention to the ongoing Epstein files controversy by wearing pins reading “Release the — files” with a black redaction bar covering the name before “files.” Meanwhile, Rep. Norma Torres of California held up signs of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, with the caption “premeditated murder.”
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