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On the eve of his likely acquittal by the U.S. Senate, President Donald Trump addressed both houses of Congress in his annual State of the Union address.
Of course, no matter what he'd like you to think, a speech from Trump, the 3rd U.S. President to be impeached and the only one whose trial included no witnesses or evidence, will never be completely normal.
And although there were portions that felt like they might have been delivered by any President, the speech also contained several egregious falsehoods.
No one knew this better than Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who, at the end of Trump's address, made a very bold statement by ripping up her printed copy of the speech.
.@SpeakerPelosi tears up of State of the Union speech. #SOTU #SOTU2020 https://t.co/sIpi4G7KsL— CSPAN (@CSPAN)1580873379.0
The White House was quick to respond on Twitter.
They claimed Pelosi's action was a cry of war against every positive thing Trump mentioned.
Speaker Pelosi just ripped up: One of our last surviving Tuskegee Airmen. The survival of a child born at 21 week… https://t.co/LdO007KayR— The White House (@The White House)1580874388.0
Pelosi took a much dimmer view of the address, saying tearing it up was the "courteous thing to do" considering some of the falsehoods it was peddling.
I just asked Speaker Pelosi her reaction to the #SOTU speech. “I tore it up,” she said. Why? “It was the cour… https://t.co/AxoGukZ1gx— Melanie Zanona (@Melanie Zanona)1580874130.0
Q: Why did you tear up the speech? PELOSI: “Because it was the courteous thing to do.” PELOSI: “It was the courte… https://t.co/mDumP17NDu— Frank Thorp V (@Frank Thorp V)1580873947.0
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on why she ripped up President Trump’s speech: “Because it was the courteous thing to do cons… https://t.co/OBEtn6mJee— Jason Donner (@Jason Donner)1580874266.0
As is almost always the case, the same conservatives who back President Trump's every slur and attack branded Pelosi's act as one of the most petty, norm-shattering things they'd ever witnessed.
Just went back to the House chamber. Here is what is left of @SpeakerPelosi childish act. Our unified strength is… https://t.co/nxZjebVm2h— Rep. Mark Walker (@Rep. Mark Walker)1580875248.0
White House reaction to @SpeakerPelosi ripping #SOTU speech after @realdonadltrump concluded. One senior White Hous… https://t.co/EeHfHaaGq4— Fin Gomez (@Fin Gomez)1580875786.0
NEW: The Trump campaign responds to Nancy Pelosi ripping up Trump's #SOTU speech: “She might as well rip up any pl… https://t.co/CoSZAMbDMX— Bob Mueller (@Bob Mueller)1580876770.0
Disappointed to see @SpeakerPelosi rip up the speech that mentioned lives we’ve lost and heroes we celebrated at th… https://t.co/1E02ZrmeYq— Nikki Haley (@Nikki Haley)1580875756.0
Meanwhile, many liberals on Twitter saw the move as a savvy, almost Trumpian attempt to divert media attention.
Seems to me like Pelosi took a page out of Trump’s playbook and stole the spotlight away. No one’s talking about the speech now.— Jon Favreau (@Jon Favreau)1580876050.0
That’s our Speaker. #SOTU2020 https://t.co/kKtA1laTt8— Rep. Sylvia Garcia (@Rep. Sylvia Garcia)1580873958.0
I just saw someone say something online that really resonated with me: that with a flick of her wrist Pelosi may we… https://t.co/4zzXuhQlbb— Seth Abramson (@Seth Abramson)1580874559.0
Of course, the debate will continue online until the next controversy comes along.
How petty of Pelosi. Ripping up a piece of paper doesn't change the facts that were written on it—Americans are win… https://t.co/UVHUTQhssv— Kevin McCarthy (@Kevin McCarthy)1580874723.0
Pelosi’s tearing up of @realDonaldTrump’s speech was vicious & small-minded, but it also shows her political impote… https://t.co/DN0EVSnQv9— Dinesh D'Souza (@Dinesh D'Souza)1580874029.0
As far as State of the Unions go, this was certainly an eventful one.
President Trump did not shake Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s outstretched hand moments before his #SOTU address, but it’s u… https://t.co/vtYy2fwsdO— Twitter Moments (@Twitter Moments)1580871521.0
Pelosi went for a handshake and Trump did not shake her hand.— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin)1580868608.0
For those who were paying close attention, Pelosi's rip was well foreshadowed.
Nancy Pelosi passively aggressively flipping through papers https://t.co/xlA6XQWvVf— Robby Soave (@Robby Soave)1580868696.0
It looks like Trump is interrupting Nancy Pelosi’s tax prep with the State of the Union. #StateOfTheUnion https://t.co/INPpGc4Ra1— Dax Holt (@Dax Holt)1580871840.0
All I can watch is Nancy Pelosi shuffling her massive stack of papers. #SOTU https://t.co/OUM0BWWjUN— Hales (@Hales)1580872061.0
I think Nancy Pelosi has found the missing Iowa ballots #SOTU #StateOfTheUnion https://t.co/OZfNKsWqFu— Incoming Memes (@Incoming Memes)1580872762.0
And we all know how things ended...
Standing behind President Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi rips up a copy of his State of the Union address as soon as h… https://t.co/e20wDrMTuP— ABC News Politics (@ABC News Politics)1580873568.0
The results of the 2020 election will determine whether this is Trump's last State of the Union. Voters on both sides of the aisle are working tirelessly to make sure they come out victorious.