Speaker Pelosi says that she doesn’t hate the President. Someone should have told her that before the State of the Union tonight.
Nancy Pelosi really doesn’t seem to like the President very much for some reason.
Frankly, it appears that the feeling is mutual.
But then, it’s understandable for President Trump to not have warm, fuzzy feelings for someone that has worked to have him impeached over literally nothing and has said that he’s guilty of the non-crime even if he’s acquitted.
I’d not be keen on shaking that person’s hand, either.
News agencies gleefully reported at the perceived snub.
WATCH: Trump refuses to shake House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's hand as he begins #SOTU pic.twitter.com/KVum1D6ikq
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) February 5, 2020
Shortly after this, (perhaps as a tit-for-tat,) Speaker Pelosi introduced the President but didn’t use the traditional introduction, “Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States.” Instead, Speaker Pelosi said, “Members of Congress, the President of the United States.”
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."
Speaker Pelosi said "Members of Congress, the President of the United States."
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 5, 2020
Watch the intro:
But remember, Speaker Pelosi was pretty snarky during last year’s State of the Union address with her mocking clap.
Remember when you were all celebrating the “queen” for this? So 2 can play the game. pic.twitter.com/v412fVnpvn
— Obianuju Ekeocha (@obianuju) February 5, 2020
The Media(D) loved that and she was praised for her “clap back” against the President.
Throughout the entire speech, she was making faces as she sat there reading through her copy of the speech to determine which things she could applaud and which she could skip that wouldn’t hurt her politically.
Basically, she was being petty.
Just how petty did she get?
At the end of the speech, just after President Trump said, “God Bless America” she ripped up the transcript of the State of the Union speech and tossed it aside immediately after Trump finished speaking.
It was clearly a political stunt to show her disapproval of the President. She took a couple of sheets at the time and held them up in front of her and tore them, then she repeated the action just to make sure that the cameras caught it.
Nancy Pelosi destroyed a historical record tonight at #SOTU
The speech she ripped up was a one-of-a-kind record, signed by POTUS and full of stories of Bravery, Heroism and Patriotism. It belonged to the AMERICAN PEOPLE, not to her. What a disgusting display of raw partisanship! pic.twitter.com/CRXHPE6vdm
— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) February 5, 2020
Remind me… who is it that’s supposed to be the divisive one, again?
Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University who did such a great job destroying the premise of the impeachment circus, wasn’t a fan of Speaker Pelosi”s actions. He posted several tweets about the behavior this evening. (Remember, he’s a Democrat.)
There has long been a revered SOTU tradition that the Speaker of the House does not exhibit opposition or ridicule for the remarks of a president (even if he is from the opposing party). Pelosi is shattering that tradition by nodding in the negative and shaking her head.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 5, 2020
As Speaker at the SOTU, Pelosi represents the entire House (Republicans and Democrats alike). She is not there as a member of the opposition, but as the representative of the institution of the House of Representatives. . . .
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 5, 2020
The facial expressions and head shaking is a new low for the House. Moreover, the protests of members was incredibly inappropriate. A president speaks at the SOTU as a guest of both houses. . . .
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 5, 2020
You do not have applaud or to stand, but to heckle, mock, and interrupt destroys both the decorum and traditions of the House. I can understand why the address was objectionable to the opposition but that is no excuse for this sad departure of history.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 5, 2020
Trump was wrong not to shake the hand of the Speaker. Likewise, the Speaker was wrong in skipping the traditional words welcoming the President as a "distinct honor." The ripping up of the speech reduced the Speaker to the level of troll.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 5, 2020
Pelosi's act dishonored the institution and destroyed even the pretense of civility and decorum in the House. If this is the Speaker's "drop the mike" moment, it is a disgrace that should never be celebrated or repeated. In a single act, she obliterated decades of tradition.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 5, 2020
Wow, that’s pretty harsh. But he’s absolutely correct.
Speaker Pelosi says that she did it because it was “the courteous thing to do, considering the alternatives.”
Nancy Pelosi on why she ripped up a copy of President Trump's #SOTU: "It was the courteous thing to do, considering the alternative." https://t.co/hxIJguOJ9p pic.twitter.com/iTuR070GRk
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 5, 2020
Courteous to tear up a historical record? One that included the stories of the guests in the gallery — including foreign President Juan Guaidó — and the names of Americans who died defending the United States?
It wasn’t courteous at all — it was completely disrespectful.
There were other partisan moments during the address.
AOC and Rep. Ayanna Pressley decided to boycott the State of the Union altogether. (I’m sure that President Trump will never recover from that bit of shade.) Of their Democrat colleagues that were in attendance, they did the usual thing by refusing to applaud the President’s accomplishments, a whole lot of scowling, and even some actual heckling.
At one point, when President Trump discusses reducing drug prices, Democrats chanted “H.R.3” to promote their prescription drug bill.
House Democrats chant "H.R. 3" — referring to their prescription drug bill — during #SOTU pic.twitter.com/YSkaKb3FIW
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) February 5, 2020
Democrats refused to stand or applaud for:
- historically low records of unemployment for blacks, Hispanics, and women
- Hispanic border patrol agents
- reducing illegal immigration
- killing terrorists
- working to end the AIDS epidemic
- protecting pre-existing conditions
- ending late-term abortion
- putting America first
- a single mom and her 9-year old daughter who were guests of the President
- any accomplishment of the President
But there was one glimmer of bipartisanship in an indigo dress. Senator Kyrsten Sinema(D-AZ) stood and applauded when President Trump spoke about South Carolina Senator Tim Scott’s work on opportunity zones.
Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema gives a standing ovation after Trump commends GOP Sen. Tim Scott for work on opportunity zones. pic.twitter.com/CPjxbgfIIG
— Axios (@axios) February 5, 2020
That Senator Sinema has really been a surprise. She’s been a better Republican Senator than the one she replaced — which is not too shabby for a Democrat.
It’s just too bad that there aren’t more Democrats like her who are willing to applaud when they agree with what the President has done instead of being whipped into obedience by their Speaker.
Instead, we have a Speaker who is tearing up a historical record that honored Americans and a foreign leader.
One of America's last surviving Tuskegee Airmen.
Scholarships for quality education.
Young leaders.
Comfort for mourning Americans.
A soldier's reunion with his family.
“I tore it up. I was trying to find one page with truth on it. I couldn’t." – Speaker Pelosi pic.twitter.com/gRummbjsBq
— Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) February 5, 2020
