There’s no love lost between President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Apparently the House Speaker didn’t provide the president with the customary introduction after he declined to shake her hand.
Traditionally, the Speaker says: “Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States.”
AdvertisementSpeaker Pelosi said “Members of Congress, the President of the United States.”
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 5, 2020
It didn’t end there. Just seconds after the president ended his address, Speaker Pelosi stood up and tore the paper in half for all to see.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on why she ripped up President Trump’s speech: “Because it was the courteous thing to do considering the alternatives.” pic.twitter.com/nYTjAZAwGo
— Jason Donner (@jason_donner) February 5, 2020
Pelosi just ripped up what I assume is Trump’s speech?
— Bianna Golodryga (@biannagolodryga) February 5, 2020
Wow.
Nancy Pelosi literally ripped her copy of President Trump’s State of the Union Speech in half.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) February 5, 2020
That scene is going to be played over and over again. Pelosi appears to rip up her copy of the president’s speech as soon as he finished and then tossed it. #SOTU
— T.J. Holmes (@tjholmes) February 5, 2020
Conservatives didn’t appreciate the move:
The only thing Pelosi and dems have is her ripping up President Trump’s speech at the end. Petty and pathetic. Democrats are losing.
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) February 5, 2020
Another mocked it:
i didn’t realize how fucking great that speech was until Pelosi ripped it up.
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) February 5, 2020
Trump was briefly interrupted at one point in his speech after claiming that drugs prices have gone down during his administration. A number of Democratic representatives stood up and chanted the following, as caught by NBC News’ and MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt.
Democrats are yelling “HR 3,” the House Democratic bill on drug prices
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) February 5, 2020
Many of those representatives wore white to Trump’s speech to symbolize that they are aligned and “not backing down.”
As for the tenor of the room:
The tenor, tone and mood of this #StateOfTheUnion is more campaign-like than any I have covered in the past decade — what usually feels mostly like a formal and gracious event celebrating the country and acknowledging its leader has changed dramatically in this era
— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) February 5, 2020
During NBC News post-address coverage, Hunt’s colleague Chuck Todd remarked, “It’s so far removed from a traditional State of the Union at this point… It’s just timing that we’re calling it the State of the Union. This was a conservative campaign checklist of making sure you hit every special interest group.”
Pres. Trump also announced that he was presenting longtime conservative political talk radio host Rush Limbaugh with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Trump interrupted his own speech so First Lady Melania Trump could do the honors right then and there.
The honor came one day after Limbaugh announced he has advanced lung cancer.
Elsewhere on Twitter:
Dems refuse to clap for low unemployment! they hate jobs?! Won’t clap for the lowest unemployment rate for African Americans in history! They won’t clap for it! Not for women, not for youth! not for anyone! They won’t clap for jobs for ANYONE! #Socialists
— Melissa Francis (@MelissaAFrancis) February 5, 2020
Bill O’Reilly seems to agree with his former Fox colleague:
Democrats look foolish not reacting to good economic statistics.
— Bill O’Reilly (@BillOReilly) February 5, 2020
Joe Scarborough disagrees:
Reversed the failed economic policy of the past administration?? Donald, you are benefiting politically from the 10TH YEAR of the Obama recovery. You don’t have to send him a thank you card. Just don’t insult your supporters by lying about recent history.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 5, 2020
Fox News anchor Shannon Bream made mention of a nice moment during the address:
Pres surprises military spouse Amy Williams and two young children with the return of Sgt First Class Townsend Williams in the gallery. Lots of cheering and looks like some tears. #SOTU
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) February 5, 2020
CNN’s Jim Acosta points out the back-and-forth nature of this address:
Trump shifting back and forth in his speech from heartwarming moments involving U.S. service members to rhetoric bashing immigrants and numerous false claims.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 5, 2020
The anchor of the CBS Evening News calls Trump “a master showman at his best.”
This was a speech unlike any other I have witnessed from President Donald Trump – the reality TV president took on the state of the union, a master showman at his best.
We have live analysis on @CBSNews as we await the Democratic response from MI Gov. Gretchen Whitmer #SOTU pic.twitter.com/6s61MCgULb
— Norah O’Donnell🇺🇸 (@NorahODonnell) February 5, 2020
CBS News’ John Dickerson on the president’s remarks: “This was his ‘Morning in America’ speech. That was a phrase that came from Ronald Reagan in 1984. He said it’s ‘Morning in America’. When Reagan did it, when he gave the State of the Union in 1984, his reelection year, his second paragraph was about the bipartisan achievement… he embraced the bipartisan spirit that’s usually in this. That spirit did not exist in this. Not only did the President not shake the Speaker’s hand, she did not say the traditional words, ‘it’s my high privilege and distinct honor to introduce the president’. You saw there it was an absolutely split evening. The division in America was out there for all to see.”