White House slams Pelosi for dramatically tearing Trump's speech, she defends decision calling the speech 'dirty'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has drawn criticism from many Republican supporters and commentators after she controversially tore up her copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech as he concluded his remarks for the night. The night kicked off with tension in the air after the president refused Pelosi's handshake ahead of his speech, handing her a copy of the address and then ignoring her outstretched hand.
Trump was met with cheers of 'Four more years!' from the Republicans present in the House chamber, though at the time, hundreds of Democrats could be heard booing, audibly groaning, and seen rolling their eyes.
His speech went on for an hour and 20 minutes and saw him make promises about medicare, praise the American economy, the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, and more. It ended with him promising a bright future and insisting that "the best is yet to come," though all that was overshadowed by Pelosi dramatically tearing up her copy of the address and throwing it down a few inches behind him.
Despite mixed reactions, he praised his third SOTU speech, tweeting, "It was a great and triumphant evening for our Country. Thank you for all of the nice remarks and wonderful reviews of my State of the Union Speech. It was my great honor to have done it!"
He also retweeted several other tweets that criticized Pelosi for tearing up her copy of the speech, including one by the official White House account that read, "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."
Indeed, Charles McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen that the White House referred to, was a guest at the SOTU and was given a standing ovation by both Democrats and Republicans as he saluted the chamber.
Also present were Carl and Marsha Mueller, the parents of Kayla Mueller, who was kidnapped and killed by ISIS during humanitarian work in Aleppo, Syria with the non-profit Doctors Without Borders. They help up a picture of their slain daughter as the president honored them.
Pelosi, however, defended her actions to reporters waiting outside, calling Trump's speech "dirty." "I tore it up," she said. "It was the courteous thing to do considering the alternatives. It was such a dirty speech."
She addressed the incident once again in a more detailed statement where she called his speech a "manifesto of mistruths" and attacked his misleading claims about healthcare. "Once again, President Trump was not truthful about his actions in court to destroy pre-existing condition protections," she wrote. "Once again, President Trump pulled his punch on his promise to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices, which House Democrats delivered with the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, H.R.3."
"Democrats continue to urge the President to abandon his assault on seniors and families and to join us to deliver real progress in lowering the price of prescription drugs and making the bold investments needed to rebuild America's infrastructure in a green and modern way," she continued.
"The manifesto of mistruths presented in page after page of the address tonight should be a call to action for everyone who expects truth from the President and policies worthy of his office and the American people."