House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up her copy of President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday after the president wrapped up his hour-and-a-half speech. Pelosi was seen standing up and tearing the speech in half just as Trump finished his address to applause. When asked why she did it, Pelosi told NBC News it was “the courteous thing to do considering the alternative.” The White House Twitter account promptly responded, writing that Pelosi was ripping up one of the “last surviving Tuskegee Airmen,” “mourning families” and “the family reunion of a service member.” “That’s her legacy,” the tweet read.
The move came after Trump appeared to deny Pelosi a pre-address handshake and Pelosi altered the traditional introduction for the president, omitting the part where the House speaker typically says it is a “high privilege and distinct honor” to present the president before the joint session of Congress.
