The speaker of the United States House of Representative, Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday was seen ripping Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech in half.
As soon as Donald Trump was done giving his speech, while Republicans were cheering his remarks, she stood up behind the president and ripped the speech papers in half.
When asked afterwards why she ripped his speech, Pelosi told reporters it was “the courteous thing to do given the alternative.”
Pelosi largely seemed to avoid looking at Trump throughout the address, instead reading from his prepared remarks and scanning the room.
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She and other Democrats stood and applauded only periodically, even as Republicans regularly gave ovations. Pelosi could be seen subtly shaking her head “no” when Trump pledged to protect Medicare and Social Security as well as rejecting his claim that Democrats want to provide “unlimited health care” for undocumented immigrants.
The congresswomen attended the event dressed in white, for a second year in a row, in an act of solidarity; their intent, per the Democratic Women’s Caucus, was “to send a strong, unified message of persistence in fighting for the people.”
Trump’s address comes amid his impeachment trial in the Senate, which will vote Wednesday and is widely expected to acquit the president on two articles of impeachment: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.