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WATCH Pelosi tear up Trump's State of the Union speech
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up President Donald Trump’s SOTU speech after fuming through the well-applauded yearly address. The gesture was met with cheers and jeers, divided along the usual partisan lines.
Pelosi looked barely able to contain her rage as she tore up what the White House has confirmed was Trump’s 78-minute speech. While her supporters cheered the gesture of defiance - those who saw it, at least, and weren’t boycotting the speech entirely - Republicans were appalled.
The Democratic leader seemed consciously determined to one-up her 2019 performance, in which she deliberately clapped in the president’s face following another lengthy but well-applauded 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 (@WhiteHouse) February 5, 2020
Trump had managed to get his own spiteful digs in, dodging a handshake with his chief nemesis as the proceedings commenced. However, the official White House Twitter account took a dim view of Pelosi’s move, interpreting it as a monumental act of disrespect toward those honored in the president’s speech.
The president was seen to mouth the words “thank you” as Pelosi put the torn-up papers aside, though it wasn’t clear if he was sarcastically thanking her or directing his gratitude elsewhere.
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