No sooner did President Donald Trump finish his State of the Union address then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped it in two.
Right there, on the dais behind him.
Trump was barely done, turning to greet the crowd of lawmakers Tuesday night, when Pelosi, without a moment’s delay, turned the papers in her hand.
And she ripped.
And then she took some more pages.
And she ripped again.
Asked afterward in the halls of the Capitol why she did it, Pelosi responded: “It was the courteous thing to do.” She added: “It was the courteous thing to do considering the alternative.”
Later, the White House and President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign lashed out at Pelosi for ripping up the president’s State of the Union speech.
The president had appeared to snub the House speaker before his speech when she extended her hand to him, and he turned back around without acknowledging it.
Tim Murtaugh, the communications director for Trump’s reelection team, responded: “She might as well rip up any plans for attracting independent voters. Pelosi and the Democrats sat on their hands through all of the good news for Americans in that speech. It’s a sad place to be when good news for America is bad news for Democrats.”
The White House accused Pelosi of disrespecting Trump’s guests of honor by ripping up the speech. “Speaker Pelosi just ripped up: One of our last surviving Tuskegee Airmen. The survival of a child born at 21 weeks. The mourning families of Rocky Jones and Kayla Mueller. A service member’s reunion with his family. That’s her legacy,” the White House tweeted.
