Just minutes into President Donald Trump’s remarks to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was escorted from the chamber after causing a disturbance.
After rising up during Trump’s speech and yelling, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid,” Republicans immediately started yelling for Green to sit down as he pointed his cane at Trump.
Trump tried to continue speaking, but Republicans began chanting, “USA, USA, USA.”
As Green remained standing, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) spoke up to warn Green the sergeant-at-arms would take him away if he did not end his disturbance. When Green refused to sit, continuing to say Trump had no mandate to cut Medicaid, Johnson ordered Green removed, and plainclothes House staff escorted him away to loud cheers from Republicans.
Speaking outside the chamber, Green told reporters he was simply using Trump’s own playbook against him.
“He is a person who has consistently used incivility against civility,” Green said.
“I’m willing to suffer whatever punishment is available to me,” he continued. “I didn’t say to anyone, ‘Don’t punish me.’ I’ve said I’ll accept the punishment, but it’s worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this president’s desire to cut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.”
“This is about the people who are being punished by virtue of losing their health care,” he added. “This is the richest country in the world, and we have people who don’t have good health care.”