President Donald Trump‘s speech before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night was a raucous and contentious affair, with the president using the opportunity to attack his opponents and push his agenda while Democrats showed their opposition. Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green was ejected from the speech over his protests against the president.

Rep. Green ejected for calling out Trump over ‘mandate,’ social programs

Within minutes of Trump starting his speech, Democrats in the audience booed his claims that he won the popular vote in the 2024 election by “big numbers,” with Republicans chanting “USA” in an attempt to drown out their colleagues, The Washington Post reported. Amid the scene, Green stood up, pointed his cane at the president and yelled he had “no mandate” to cut Medicaid, as Trump claimed. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson issued a warning and told Green to take his seat, threatening to ask the sergeant at arms to “restore order.” But Green remained standing and continued shouting before Johnson instructed the sergeant at arms, “Remove this gentleman from the chamber!”

Green later explained that he was not worried about possible calls to censure him for his protest.

He said, “It’s worth it to let people know that there are some of us that are going to stand up against this president’s desire to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.”

Green has been a long-time critic of Trump, calling for the president’s impeachment during his first term and again last month.

His protest was part of acts of defiance performed by Democrats toward the president’s speech. Politico reported that many of the Democratic members of Congress held up signs with messages including criticisms like “False” and “Musk Steals,” as well as entreaties like “Protect Veterans” and “Save Medicaid.”

People on social media applauded Green.

Trump pushes divisive agenda

Democrats’ ire against Trump showed their opposition to his agenda and what he said in his speech. According to CNN, Trump used the opportunity to insult former President Joe Biden repeatedly and to celebrate the attacks that Trump has made against government programs and diversity. Trump boasted of having “ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government, and indeed the private sector, and our military,” and he bragged about removing “the poison of critical race theory.” Trump also criticized Stacey Abrams, a long-time Republican target, and celebrated his canceling of foreign aid, mocking countries like the African nations of Lesotho and Mozambique and “Afro Colombian empowerment in Central America.”

Democrats were notably contemptuous of Trump and his stances, and their vocal displays demonstrate an increasingly fierce partisan divide in Washington. In past years, Republican Reps. Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia have shouted out at Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, respectively, accusing them of being liars during their speeches. Neither of the Republican members of Congress were removed or censured for their outburst.

Now, however, Republicans appear to demand that Democrats show them the respect the GOP has refused to give to Democratic leaders in the past. Trump, at one point in his speech, said to Democrats in the audience, “I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud.” Given his right-wing agenda and Democrats’ efforts to push back against it, Trump is probably right not to expect the other side of the aisle to applaud him any time soon.

Rep. Al Green