"I wanted the president to see it, and he saw it, and I told him, Black people are not apes, and for him to do what he did was racist, and he knows it. But sometimes we have to let him know in the public that we know it."
"House Democratic leaders had made their most unambiguous demands and pleas to their rank-and-file of any major address from the president to date: Keep quiet in the House chamber or skip Trump's speech altogether, according to Democratic members familiar with the conversations."
"Democratic leaders were fearful a spectacle from one of their members could turn the focus away from the president at a time when he is at his weakest moment politically in years, and instead badly divide Democrats."
Rep. Al Green, a 78-year-old Texas Democrat and senior party member, was removed from the House chamber during President Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday night for holding a sign reading 'Black people aren't apes!' Green stated he wanted Trump to see the sign and publicly acknowledge that Black people are not apes, calling Trump's actions racist. Green is known for his strong opposition to Trump, including repeated impeachment attempts and previous disruptions of Trump's speeches. Democratic leadership had issued explicit directives to members to remain quiet during the address or skip it entirely, fearing that disruptive protests could shift focus away from the president and create internal party divisions during a politically vulnerable moment for Trump.
#political-protest #state-of-the-union #house-chamber-disruption #democratic-leadership #trump-opposition
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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